Tag: football

Raheem Sterling and Hart left out of England squad

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Joe Hart and Raheem Sterling are going to miss the next England games due to injury. Both players have been injured during the Manchester derby on Sunday. Raheem Sterling suffers from a groin injury while Joe Hart is suffering from a calf problem. Both players are expected to be absent for four weeks.

On the other hand, Danny Drinkwater is reaping the benefits of Leicester surprising season and has earned his first selection with the England team. Aged 26, the former Manchester United youth team player is set to compete with the likes of Dele Alli, Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana for a place in midfield.

Roy Hodgson has been impressed by Drinkwater’s contribution to the rise of Leicester and is set to give him some playing time in one of the two games. The England manager wants to see whether Drinkwater will be able to replicate his Leicester performance with the England team.

With Carrick likely to miss the Euro finals and with Wilshere still injured, Danny Drinkwater has an excellent chance to make it to the Euros provided he can maintain the form that he has been showing so far this season. This would be a formidable reward for a player that has given everything for Leicester this campaign. (more…)

Alan Pardew believes that England manager Roy Hodgson should use his winger Wilfried Zaha

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Alan Pardew believes that England manager Roy Hodgson should use his winger Wilfried Zaha as his wild card option at the Euro 2016.

England go into the competition flush with confidence, which has been acquired after a brilliant qualification campaign. However, there is a fear of England being found out in this major competition as has been the situation in recent decades. After going into major tournaments as favourites, England have flattered to deceive. They have failed to get past the quarter final stage of any major tournament in the last two decades.

This time around, the presence of many new faces ensures that there is a hint of unpredictability surrounding England. Other teams, however, will be able to learn about the players by looking at the qualification campaign. Pardew says that England should have a wild card in the squad and this element of surprise is important in such a big event. The Crystal Palace manager has identified Wilfried Zaha as the perfect choice for this job. Even though Zaha has been a winger in his career, Pardew says that the former Manchester United man has the ability to make a big impact while playing through the middle. Ironically, this is where England appear to be the strongest. (more…)

Mark Hughes claims that defender Ryan Shawcross may have to start performing

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Stoke City manager Mark Hughes claims that defender Ryan Shawcross may have to start performing for club before thinking about international action under Roy Hodgson.

Shawcross made his debut for England three years ago, but his international appearances have been restricted despite his impressive performances at club level. He does not appear to have quite convinced the manager Roy Hodgson especially in the face of competition that includes players like Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill. These are players representing top clubs and Shawcross will find it difficult to get into the England team right now according to Hughes.

The impressive performances of Shawcross cannot be more aptly demonstrated by the fact that the club are chasing a fourth consecutive clean sheet when they take Sunderland this weekend. Stoke City have been unable to make huge inroads into the league table largely because of their troubles upfront. The club has averaged less than a goal per game. This is significantly lower than several teams around them. However, they have also conceded less than a goal per game. This is actually one of the better records in the Premier League with only the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, and Manchester United being capable of a better record. (more…)

Roy Hodgson has confirmed that striker Wayne Rooney will not be part of the starting line-up

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Roy Hodgson has confirmed that striker Wayne Rooney will not be part of the starting line-up against Spain.

This is one of the several friendly matches lined up for the England national team as a preparation for the Euro 2016. Rooney has not been in great form for the last couple of months and it makes sense to try out new players for the national team. It is highly anticipated that Tottenham forward Harry Kane will be starting the game. Kane has been in fine nick over the last few weeks. After ending the goal drought with a rebound effort against Manchester City, Kane recently scored a hat-trick against Bournemouth.

Hodgson says that he is expecting better performance from the 21-year-old, who has always delivered for the national team whenever he has been selected. Spain are not the force to reckon with they were once, but even then, England are expected to give them a lot of respect. Vicente del Bosque will be fielding striker Diego Costa, who has been woefully out of form for club and country, despite pressures to go for the likes of Alvaro Morata. Rooney has scored seven goals in the last eight appearances for England, but he will only start the game against France a few days later. (more…)

Roy Hodgson believes that new Manchester City signing Raheem Sterling is Good for Success

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England manager Roy Hodgson believes that new Manchester City signing Raheem Sterling has what it takes to become a success for his new club and that he can live up to his £ 49 million transfer fee.

The former Liverpool winger has antagonised a lot of his supporters at his previous club mainly because of his desire to join City. The move, however, was not a smooth one since Liverpool were not interested in selling him. Sterling had to force his way out of Anfield and this meant a lot of public interviews against the club. As a result, the 20-year-old found himself at the backlash of many fans during the pre-season tour.

Hodgson, though, says that Sterling has enough quality to cope with the pressure that comes with a massive transfer fee his shoulders. The England international has become the most expensive player in City’s history – surpassing the likes of Sergio Aguero and Yaya Touré – and he has a lot to live up to. Sterling reportedly turned down a £ 100,000 per week offer from Liverpool in order to join City. His decision appears to have been made with the prospect of winning titles in mind. The massive wealth allows City to challenge for all trophies. (more…)

Roy Hodgson says that he has not closed the door on a return to international football

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Roy Hodgson says that he has not closed the door on a return to international football for striker Andy Carroll, who has been suffering for form and fitness ever since completing a permanent move to West Ham United.

The national team is currently rich with a long list of top strikers. The likes of Charlie Austin have also been knocking the door, which makes it extremely difficult for Carroll to return to the national team. The 26-year-old has managed only seven goals in the last two seasons. This form is not sufficient for him to be selected for the England team.

The national team is at a crucial stage whereby Hodgson has to come up with a strong team capable of winning the Euro 2016 or even reaching the latter stages. Doing well in this competition is extremely important for the national team due to their disappointing World Cup. England have had a strong set of results since the qualification campaign started. This, again, makes it difficult for Hodgson to bring the changes in the team. The former Liverpool striker has managed to appear in nine internationals for England, but he has managed only two goals in these matches. His last goal for England was in 2012. (more…)

Roy Hodgson did a lot of experimentation in the Italy game

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Roy Hodgson did a lot of experimentation in the Italy game the other night and it all fell apart at the start. The Three Lions played clueless Football and had they not been that lucky, they could have been trailing 0-2 or 0-3 at the completion of the first half.

Hodgson’s fault in the first half was that he installed wrong players at wrong places and thus, nothing went to the plan.

Now that everybody has realized that Wayne Rooney is not as effective playing in the midfield as he is playing upfront, there was no need for him to be played in the playmaking role. He should have been used as a striker straightaway, but, Hodgson went for Theo Walcott instead.

And, not only that, rather than playing Phil Jones in the backline, he pushed him in the midfield and actually, held Michael Carrick back which was another bizarre thing.

With that sort of formation, England was never going to test Italy which had a steady team playing with very good tactics.

However, finally some common sense prevailed and Hodgson started making changes close to half time and thankfully, he made the right changes. (more…)

Jack Wilshere problems after Drinking and Smoking

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Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere has had problems involving drinking and smoking which has caused Arsene Wenger on having to step up and establish meetings with the English player regarding his actions.

“The smoking? Of course I regret it. I’ve been seen before doing it. I said then I made a mistake and I have made a mistake again.People make mistakes.I’m young and I’ll learn from it. I realize the consequences it has and the effect on kids growing up. I have kids myself and I don’t want them growing up to think their dad smokes and it’s OK for a footballer to smoke because it’s not.’’ That was one of the statements released by Wilshere as he expressed his regrets.

After Wilshere said those things, it was believed that Jack Wilshere had stopped doing those harmful things such as drinking and smoking but a few weeks ago some pictures were leaked to the internet which displayed Wilshere with a shisha pipe in a nightclub as the player was still recovering from an ankle surgery that he sustained some time ago.

It has become more than clear that Arsene Wenger is not happy with these actions of Jack Wilshere but there are some managers that have actually admitted in saying that Wilshere’s lifestyle is no problem for them and this is the case of England’s Roy Hodgson. (more…)

England boss Roy Hodgson confident on his Team for Euro 2016

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After managing to win the last six matches without exception, England boss Roy Hodgson reckons that the Three Lions will be heading to the Euro 2016 as one of the favourites to win the trophy.

England are still searching for their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup. They suffered yet another embarrassment at a major tournament after being knocked out of the World Cup 2014 at the group stages. Since then, England have undergone several changes with Hodgson bringing in fresh blood in the form of players like Raheem Sterling.

They have been a major reason behind the wins in both Euro 2016 qualifying matches and friendlies in the last few months. More importantly, England have also been playing much better football compared to recent years. (more…)

England Grassroot Games needs major Changes

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The chairman of the Football Association (FA) Greg Dyke has admitted in saying that the grassroots game in England are in need of major changes and there are plans of making these changes happen as this can hugely improve the future of football in England as well as even helping out the development of rising stars in the country.

“If you go to Germany or Holland we are miles behind in terms of facilities and the number of coaches. It is clear we have a real problem with pitches. Local authorities’ budgets are being squeezed and most of the pitches are owned by them. The maintenance of these pitches is not as good as it used to be and over the last two years there have been swathes of games called off, so it’s a real issue’’ Greg Dyke told reporters.

The main plan of Greg Dyke is to help increase the facilities in which football is being played with better pitches and boost the number of top quality playing grounds as well as expand the number of coaches between different teams and clubs.

By the year 2020, there have already been outlined a number of goals that Greg Dyke and the commission are hoping that will be accomplished which includes:

Increasing football hubs of 30 cities as well as upgrading the pitches of urban areas by establishing state of the art artificial grass pitches.

Having more than 150 new football-owned and managed football hubs to support the delivery of FA, County FA and professional club youth development and coach education programs.

Establishing more than 50 per cent of all mini-soccer and youth football matches and having about 3,750 matches per week.

All of these goals and changes are expected to provide England with a better suited place for homegrown players to be developed and consequently increase the possibility of having younger players added into the main team of England.