And another one bites the dust

With the countdown underway to the first round of games in the Prem, AGAIN, it comes as no surprise that another player from a Big Four club has pulled outta the the England Squad for this weeks friendly.

I said yesterday that this was bound to happen. However it doesn't make it any less shocking both in terms of the England's team's preparation for 2010 and for all the fans that have bought tickets. Do we get any benefit from seeing a patchwork England XI vs Holland??

The argument is always that Capello now has a chance to see how other players may fare in the team however, this isn't the point. These games are an opportunity for the preferred 11 to play as many times together as possible, and gel in a way that gives us a chance of getting past the quarter-finals next year.

Any-road, that's enough for now. I'm off to spit some more feathers.

Yours

Frank

Short memory Chelsea??

Football fails to surprise me anymore. It really doesn't. Was it only a few months ago on that fateful night in West London that Chelsea were dealt a cruel blow in the shape of a portly, incompetent Norwegian's inability to spot a penalty from 3 yards?? Was it not on that night that Herr Ballack chased after and berated the referee in a way that the only suitable musical accompaniment to his antics would have been the Benny Hill music??!!



So as football goes it was inevitable that Ballack would play a pivotal role in the most contentious moment of today's Community Shield. One that lead to Chelsea's second goal. As Evra lay on the ground, looking like he had just been zapped with a taser-gun, courtesy of Ballack, Chelsea deemed the incident minor enough not to warrant stopping play and hence waltzed on and grabbed a second. Well well well, how things are different when the boots on the other foot!!! We used to revere all Russian linesmen but from now on whenever Chelski score a dubious goal, the opposing team wouldn't be blamed for asking 'where's a Norwegian ref when you need one'??!!



What did bring a smile to my face was the realisation that Fergie is still guaranteed to throw his toys outta the pram whenever things don't go his way. Priceless



This seasons gonna be classic. May the luckiest team win!!



Yours,



Frank

The Yearly Curtain Raiser Just Got Interesting....

So here we are again, getting ready for what is billed as the annual curtain raiser for the footy season. I'm sure that fans of Championship clubs might have a thing or two to say about that!! Actually while we're on the subject of the Championship did anyone suffer temporary blindness when Newcastle took to the field in that horrific away kit last night??



So, back to the community shield. Normally this game is revered for its competitiveness as both teams will be looking to showcase their potential for the forthcoming season. However this year I see this game being just a little bit more important to both teams.



Chelsea and Ancelotti haven't won the league for 3 years and the ghost of Mourinho is still haunting the Chelsea faithful like the ghost of a girlfriend they dumped 3 years ago who went on the win the lottery the next week!! United have lost two talismanic figures in Tevez and Ronaldo - the latter having been responsible for the lions share of United's important goals and assist over the last two years.



I think both teams, more than in recent years will want to answer the critics from the get-go this year and send out a message to the rest of the league. Chelsea will want to show they are serious contenders after last years failed Scolari project and United and Ferguson will want to show Liverpool that they were never a one man team when Ronaldo was plying his trade up the East Lancs Road.



If Michael Owen gets a run out today it will be interesting to see how he fares. I'm in the camp that says as long as he stays injury free and gets good service, he will score goals and probably get back in the England team. Additionally, today may be a good indication of how the Dads Army of The Kings Road will set themselves up for the season ahead. If I had to put my house on it United will go 4-4-2 and Chelsea will go with the much talked about Diamond.

Predictions for the day..... either 1-0 or 2-1 to Chelsea. I could be wrong but United are always slow outta the blocks.

Yours,

Frank