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Ah, England, what an enigmatic football team you are. Just when you have them nailed down as perennial under achievers, comfortable and warm in the knowledge of never having to look beyond quarter finals (or in Steve van McClaren’s case, beyond qualification), they go and ruin it all by being bloody successful.

All the previous couple of day’s plaudits are deserved, and what Fabio Cappello has achieved so far deserves all the sycophantic praise it gets. But the key words are “so far”. Qualifying itself is not as much as an achievement as it is a tick in a box. Sure, the confidence that’s swarming through the squad is a delightful change, and the unshakeable belief that “Fabio knows best” is much preferred to Raymond Domenech’s horoscope based squad selection, but some doubts still linger.

The number one issue is just that, the number one. We’re often reminded by rent-a-quote ITV pundits that the goalkeeper is the least forgiving of positions, and every England fan knows the true meaning of fear when David James decides its a brilliant idea to charge off his line. Capello has indicated that James will be his first choice, and when you sit him alongside Iker Casillas, Gianluigi Buffon, or Edwin Van der Sar, he simply doesn’t compare.

Another problem lays in what happens when the final whistle goes. The English suffer from a very particular problem. The lack of confidence in the national side that’s been bred through years of failure has left a nation unsure of the right thing to say or believe. Couple this with a patriotic blindness of a country which apparently has the god given right to win the World Cup (we invented the game don’t you know?) and a media bandwagon so large it almost reaches South Africa, its no wonder Cappello’s main charge has been trying unburden his player’s minds.

This squad, however, and whisper it quietly, has the potential to do it. Factor in the return of Owen Hargreaves, Theo Walcott, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand and you have a very complete squad. There’s competition for places all over the pitch, and along with Capello’s selection policy no one is guaranteed a place in a team which once resembled a members-only gentlemen’s club.

So when the draw is made on December 4th, and England draw Papa New Guinea and the South Sandwich Islands, don’t roll your eyes and say “we’ll slip up there”. Equally don’t reveal your bulldog tattoo and bellow “We’ll teach these boys the true meaning of the game, five past ‘em no problems”. Sit there, and be quietly confident that Cappello has done some of the hard work by rebuilding a talented but broken squad, and it’s only going to get harder. After all, it was you who broke them in the first place.

At the tender age of 23 Cristiano Ronaldo has the world at his feet. This season in 46 games he has scored 40 goals, and from a player who’s not your traditional striker. Rather than play as a Centre Forward, a winger or a midfielder Ronaldo tends to sit somewhere in between. He has pace, power, strength, finishing skills and all the tricks you can throw your hat at. So, could he become the best player the world has ever seen? He’s probably the world’s best player at the moment, some people will argue about the qualities of Messi or Kaka, but I cannot agree and in my opinion Ronaldo is hands down the best player at this moment in time. Could he reach the dizzy heights of Maradona and Pele, or will he sit in that second tier of great players, the Zidanes and Eusebio’s. Could Ronaldo’s fate be the same of that of Ronaldinho? For two seasons there was no more entertaining player to watch, but he has since “let himself go”. So could he be the best player of all time… we’ll see.

It’s that time of year again, the final game of the championship season is drawing closer, leaving me wondering ‘What’s going to happen?’ There are currently three teams who could reach automatic promotion to the premiership on Sunday, and two of Watford, Crystal Palace, Wolves, Ipswich and Sheffield United will reach the play-offs. As an Ipswich Town supporter I can only hope that results go our way, we have an outside shot, needing to beat Hull City (still aiming for automatic promotion) and hope that two of Crystal Palace, Watford or Wolves loose. To quote Sir Alex Ferguson it’s “squeaky bum time” we just need sit and wait. Something I can guarantee is that the Championship will be a very nervy and exciting place this weekend. Let’s look ahead and wonder what will happen. Good Luck to all you Championship fans out there.

Manchester United vs Liverpool
This clash between these fierce rivals promises much but, as usual with so much at stake, will most likely deliver little. Liverpool are hoping to pull away in the close battle for the fourth and final Champions league spot, just three points ahead of rivals Everton with a superior goal difference. Sir Alex Ferguson is currently unbeaten in all previous battles with Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez. Prolific midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo (24 goals in the Premier League) will be looking for more success having surpassed George Best’ goal record for a season against Bolton on Wednesday, while Fernando Torres will also be hoping to add to his tally of 20 Premier League goals in his debut campaign. Despite this expect a tense affair with few goals, Liverpool having only conceded nine goals away all season whilst Man Utd have only conceded five at home. Manchester hold the upper hand having won the three points at Anfield earlier in this season, but Liverpool’s recent form suggests an upset could be on the cards.

Team news:
Manchester United: Rio Ferdinand, Edwin Van Der Sar, Louis Saha (all doubtful) Patrice Evra and Wes Brown likely to be recalled.
Liverpool: No new injury worries, although Daniel Agger (broken metatarsal) is out for the season and Harry Kewell is in Singapore captaining Australia.
Prediction: Man Utd too strong at home. 1 - 0.
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Chelsea vs Arsenal
Another top of the table clash, this time acting as a tasty appetiser for the upcoming Champions League quarter final. Top scorer Emmanuel Adebayor and the mis-firing Gunners have recorded four draws in their last four league games as their challenge for the title stutters, leaving them three points behind Manchester United. Chelsea will be looking to bounce back from their scintillating 4-4 draw at Spurs during mid-week, and abolish their reputation as big game bottlers having been out fought in the FA cup by Barnsley and out thought by Juande Ramos in the Carling cup final. Expect particularly warm receptions for Ashley Cole and William Gallas as they line up against their old team mates. Chelsea, undefeated at home, look favourites for this one.

Team News:
Chelsea: Petr Chech and Nicolas Anelka look likely to return, with John Obi-Mikel and Michael pushing for a start.
Arsenal: look set to remain unchanged from last week’s draw with Middlesbrough, with long term injuries Abou Diaby and Tomas Rosicky still absent.
Prediction: look for form man Joe Cole to shine in a 2-1 win. (more…)

Last week saw the draw for The Champions League quarter finals, and it made for compelling viewing. For the first time in the competitions illustrious history, four teams from one country navigated their way safely into the last eight. And as you may have heard one or two people whispering, those four teams were English. Liverpool and Arsenal are battling it out against each other for a semi final spot, whilst Manchester United and Chelsea were grateful for the relatively easy draw. For those with long enough memories to recall Manchester United’s magical win against Bayern Munich in ’99, you will also recall there being a distinct lack of English representation in Europe’s premier competition for the previous fifteen or so years (although this does include a five year ban following the Heysel disaster). So, what are the reasons behind this re-emergence? Why have English clubs been so successful in the last four years?

It is a sorry state of affairs to say that the driving force is not home bred English talent or tactical nous, but foreign investment and Rupert Murdoch’s handouts. It is a well known fact that the Premiership is the richest league in the world, but what is unknown by many people are the amounts involved in participating, and even winning The Premier League. The victorious team receives around £50 million in total including gate receipts and television money, whilst other major European leagues receive significantly less. This figure is particularly telling as the majority comes from television revenues from major broadcasters such as BSkyB, ITV, BBC and more recently Setanta. These massive sums are helping bankroll English clubs all the way to the top, attracting all types of players from the most coveted young starlets to the established pro. For example, Chelsea’s astronomical wage bill tops £110 million, the highest wage bill in world football, persuading Shevchenko, Ballack and Drogba to strut their stuff on the highest possible club stage at Stamford Bridge. On top of this, foriegn investors such as Malcom Glazer, Tom Hicks, and the ever ominous Roman Abramovich pile the cash into their respective side projects to attract the world’s top stars, attempting to win the £60 million-plus reward of being victourious in the Champions League. All this is whilst putting a nail in the coffin for young English talent and widening the gap with the rest of the league. Other leagues agree, with Barcelona Director of football Txiki Begiristain claiming English clubs “have invested a lot of money in football but you can see also they are doing a great job”.

This trend is set to continue thanks to the emergence of Setanta driving TV revenues sky high. With even more foreign investors taking out massive loans to finance their Champions League assault, English clubs look set to be the dominant force in European competitions for some time to come.

Both on and off the pitch Wrexham Football Club are fighting for their lives. While the Football Association are busy coming up with ideas to make the top clubs wealthier it has seemingly forgotten about the lower league football clubs that have laid the foundations for the league.

On the pitch Wrexham are currently bottom of League 2 and in danger of being relegated out of the Football league for the first time in their 135 year history. A few recent wins have given them a fighting chance but they are still 6 points off safety but do have 3 games in hand over their fellow relegation strugglers Macclesfield. Rumours from the terraces have been circulating that the club needs £150,000 each week to keep afloat and many fans believe that if they were to be relegated this season it would spell the end of their long history.


So what is the Football Association doing for financially struggling teams such as Wrexham? Practically nothing. The main agenda of the FA is to make themselves, the premier league and in particular the top few clubs richer and richer as the gap between the bigger clubs and smaller ones continue to grow.

Real football fans are the ones spending their hard earned money on away trips to Stoke and Scunthorpe, losing 1-0 but still coming back time and time again. The love in football is slowly dying and is being replaced by capitalism and corporations. The recent investment in premier league football clubs by million and billionaires who often have no idea of football culture may yet be the death of it.

A family day out to follow your local football club, especially if they are in the premier money spinning league, is no longer a viable option for the majority of working class families. For example a ticket to watch Tottenham Hotspur in the premiership can be as much as £70 for adults and £20 for children, which is just too much money for many fans.

The FA is ignoring the very thing that has made the league what it is today, real fans are being priced out of the game and real football clubs are being run into the ground. Time will tell if teams like Wrexham manage to avoid relegation and administration but the problem of the cash flow in football does not look like it will be over anytime soon.