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I’ve always been a fan of both Gerrard and Lampard but I also think its clear that they can’t play together.  A decision has to be made and although this seems to have been forced on Mclaren then in my opinion its still the right one.  Gerrard just shaves it for me because of his ability to take a BIG game by the scruff of the neck and turn it around almost on his own.  Take the European Cup Final and the FA Cup final.  Chelsea fans will probably shout me down but when did you see Lampard do something similar in a crucial game?

On the radio last night they were talking about rumours that Lampard’s injury was only minor and that he could have played but was dropped. If so then this could be the biggest and best decision McLaren has made as coach.  The report went on to say that Lampard had requested to come home as a result but had been ordered to stay.  If this is true then Lampard deserved to be dropped and has lost my respect. Nobody is bigger than the team, especially the England team, and there is no place for petulance in the National squad.

Once again England failed to play with any real conviction or pace this weekend. I have stated before, that the Premiership is the fastest league in the world (allegedly), but we try and change our style when playing at International level.  Why not play to our natural strengths instead of try and adapt to a style of play which clearly doesn’t suit anybody except the opposition. To my mind the only time we have really done this consistently is in Euro ‘96 - remember the games against Scotland and Holland - fast free flowing football.  We are so far away from that now that it’s simply not funny.  If we are ever to perform at the top level we need to address this.  This above all the talk of selection and formation I believe will make the biggest difference.

So the England boys went out for a drink or two or three.  Is it right that they have been castigated in the press, fined and that Flintoff has been stripped of his vice-captaincy?  It’s certainly not right that the backroom staff should also be fined punished for not “advising the players to leave”.  Are they not adults?

I have played team sport all my life and well know the benefits of team bonding exercises and the effects they can have on team spirit.  In the UK, the culture is that this is done by going out for a few drinks, having some fun and relaxing as a team.  Even Premiership footballers do it, despite all of the changes in diet and nutrition that have been introduced over the last few years.

So where is the harm in the “England 6″ going out for a few pints?  As Mr Botham was heard to comment during the Canada game - “I don’t know what all the fuss is about”.

Well known for a drink or two himself, I read that he used to take the England and Australian teams back to his house for bar-b-ques and beer, where no doubt banter was exchanged and friendships were made.

I happen to know that a key member of the test team went out after the Melbourne test and got bladdered before tucking into a kebab on the way home.  (I know this because my brother was in the same bar).  This didn’t make the press though.

So what’s the difference between the Botham days, the Melbourne incident and last week?  The only difference I can see is that some pathetic England “fan” decided to take a picture or two and try and make a few pounds, without thinking through or worse still not caring about the consequences. 

So in my opinion the only sin committed was not doing it in private and getting caught in the act.  Still I’m sure they have all learned a vaulable lesson  - that with today’s technology no celebrity is safe anywhere, and of course Pedalos are an unsafe mode of transport when slightly the worse for drink.

My bet will be though that Freddie in particular will bounce back against Kenya and not only perform with the ball as he always does these days, but go on to make a big score too.  Although I’m sure he won’t be nipping out for a celebratory drink if he does.

Fraser

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Apologies to England cricket fans everywhere.  Once again I managed to jinx the team.  I turned on at 103/3 and fifteen minutes later we were 134/5 and then 138/6 and staring down the end of a thrashing, instead of looking like posting 250 plus.  However, up stepped Plunkett and the old man Nixon and after steadying the ship they nudged us to to 210 - not the biggest total but a test at least for New Zealand on a slightly tricky pitch.  Fingers crossed they can pull it out of the bag and put one foot into the next stage.

Fraser

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Well the Premiership promition race took another twist last night with Birmingham slipping up at Carrow road and now just a couple of points separating the top 4 clubs. 

I would personally like to see Birmingham bounce back and Sunderland.  Sorry all you Geordie Boys. 

Birmingham I like because as a Pompey fan I felt they were really unlucky to go down last year, and I like and rate Steve Bruce as a manager.  He has done well with a limited budget and I think promotion would also be the pat on the back for the board for sticking with him when they were relegated.  Many other clubs could learn from that example - Man City take note.  Good teams are built with stability and all too often the board, who are often reluctant to spend money are the first to blame the manager for not being able to produce a world class team on a tiny budget.  Look at the clubs  that consistently finish in the top 6 of the Premiership and the length of time their managers have been in place (Chelski are the exception of course).  Also look at Charlton post Curbishley - for years they probably over acheived and are now struggling to avoid relegation.

Sunderland I would like to see go up because they are a huge club with  a massive fan base that deserve to be in the top flight.  Also, I like Niall Quinn and although I never liked Keane as a player, I always respected the job he did at United.  He has gone on to earn respect as a manager with a no nonsense approach.  I would love to be a fly on the wall at some of the team talks - I bet everybody knows what their role is!  Look at the way he keeps discipline - chasing promotion and still has the nerve to drop 3 key players for missing the team bus.  Word has it though that once punished, come Monday morning it’s all forgotten and business as usual.  Uncompromising on the field and uncompromising in management, he has always set himself the highest of standards and is now doing the same for his players.  His attitude will no doubt turn average players into good players and will take him and them a long way.

Whatever happens, one thing for sure the race to the finish looks to be an exciting and close one - probably more so than the race for the Premiership title.

Fraser

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Most rounds of the FA Cup produce an upset of some sort.  This weekend produced little in the way of shocks, unless you count Watford clinging onto a 1-0 lead against Plymouth.

However, hats off to Middlesborough who stuck to the task well against Manchester United, forcing a 2-2 draw and trip to Old Trafford - a game which Sir Alex and his boys could well do without at this stage of the season. 

Blackburn won fairly convincingly against an uninspired Man City, who have a dog fight on their hands now to avoid relegation.  Let’s hope that whatever happens the board stick with Stuart Pearce - the one thing the management merry-go-round at the City of Manchester Stadium needs is a bit of stability.

But this weekends “close but no cigar” award has to go to Spurs.  After taking an early lead, they were pegged back before going 3-1 up against Chelsea after just 36 minutes thanks to 2 quick goals and a Chelsea defence obviously missing their inspirational leader John Terry.

This is how the score remained until after a goal mouth scramble after 71 minutes saw Lampard tuck in from close range.  Then for Spurs fans all over disaster struck when with 4 minutes of normal time remaining Kalou made it 3-3.  The drama was still not over though with Defoe crashing a shot against the cross bar in the dieing moments. 

Morinho definitely would not have wanted another game, but faced with what looked like exit from the FA Cup he will grab it with both hands.  I just wonder if Spurs have missed their chance.  History has shown us too that teams who have this sort of last gasp escape more often than not go on to win the competition.

Fraser

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Despite the loss of Arsenal and another £10 of my hard won money, the Premier League is well placed to have 2 English sides in the final.  Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have all avoided each other in the quarter final, although Chelsea and Liverpool may meet in the semi-final, which would be a repeat of a couple of years ago if memory serves me correct when Liverpool went onto with the competition. 

Spurs and Newcastle are both well set to progress in the UEFA cup too, with good first leg victories. 

All in all English football has never looked stronger.  If only there were some English players in the teams. But that’s an arguement for another day….

Fraser

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Another great night for both Chelsea and Liverpool in the Champions League, with both sides qualifying.  Chelsea had an early scare going a goal behind to Porto, before eventually running out 2-1 winners.

Liverpool had a sterner test against defending champions Barcelona and started the match 2-1 up with 2 all important away goals. Liverpool had the best of a tight first half, hitting the post twice.  I had expected Barca to come out flying with nothing to lose, and fancied them to get a couple of goals, but Liverpool defended well, led by the impressive Gerrard.  Barca hit the post in the second half when Ronaldinho finally found some space, and took the lead 15 minutes from time, to give the Anfield crowd a nervous end to the game.  Liverpool though eventually qualified on away goals.

Now with Manchester United expected to beat Lille and Ferguson playing the ususal mind games with the Lille coach, and Arsenal expected to overturn Eindhoven at the Emirates despite being a goal behind, we could have all 4 Premiership sides in the quarter final.  The prospect of an all English final looms ever large and underlines the strength of the Premiership, and will hopefully put paid to the call from Platini to reduce the number of English clubs in the tournament.

And let’s not forget Celtic who travel to Milan.  An early goal there by Celtic could make it very interesting for Gordon Strachan’s boys.  I quite fancy them to get a result, which would be an excellent result for Scottish football too.

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Respect for Arsene Wenger has all but disappeared in most quarters outside of the Emirates stadium - it certainly has as far as I’m concerned.  He has for years shown an unwavering belief (at least in public) in his player’s innocence of anything remotely untoward from diving to commiting fouls, and could almost be admired for that.  Even when an Arsenal player does something under his nose, he is unable to see it and appears to avoid watching replays, but can always see something the other side of the pitch better than the assistant referee who is standing 2 feet away.  But he has now reached a new low, and I hope the FA throw the book at him.

Accusing officials of lieing, rather than accept the blame for the behaviour of his players has to be the final straw.  The video replay, which I have watched a few times shows Adebayor run up and appear to throw a punch.  Now this cannot be clearly by watching the tape because of the crowd of players.  BUT it can be seen clearly by the assistant referee who is is looking right at the incident and who explained it to referee Howard Webb.  Wenger who is trying to distract from the truth with mis-information that the referees report stated that Adebayor was accused of hitting Lampard is nothing but a smoke screen and he should face the severest of penalties for it. 

Until managers and coaches face up to the responsibility they have towards fans and children and ensure their players do the same then the game will never stamp out this sort of behaviour.