Capello enjoying England challenge
Fabio Capello insisted he is still happy dealing with the most important challenge of his life, despite the latest scandal to hit the England team.
For full story go to here
World Cup 2010 – Capello sets semi-final target
England manager Fabio Capello has set his team a minimum target of reaching the World Cup semi-finals in South Africa this year.
For full story go to here
Fabio Capello sets England minimum target of reaching World Cup semis
• Italian believes side are strong enough to reach final four
• Would like to face his countrymen in the final
Fabio Capello has set England a minimum target of reaching the World Cup semi-finals in South Africa later this year. Capello, whose team have been drawn with the United States, Algeria and Slovenia in Group C at the finals starting on 11 June, said England were one of the leading sides at the tournament.
“I hope the semi-finals is a minimum,” said the Italian today. “We have good players, and we think we can beat all teams because we play at the same level of all the best teams in the world.”
Capello, who is currently at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi, further believes England can reach the later stages of the World Cup because in Wayne Rooney they will, barring injury, have one of the most in-form players around.
“[Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Wayne] Rooney are the three best players in the world. Rooney has scored a lot of goals,” he said. The Manchester United forward has already scored 28 goals for his club this season.
Should England make it to the semi-finals in South Africa, Capello hopes they will then progress to a final meeting with the country of his birth. “I hope to play against Italy in the final but my shirt at that moment will be an England shirt,” he said.
For full story go to here
Capello sets England semi-final target at World Cup
England manager Fabio Capello has set his team a minimum target of reaching the World Cup semi-finals in South Africa this year.
For full story go to here
Capello sets England semi-final target at World Cup
England manager Fabio Capello has set his team a minimum target of reaching the World Cup semi-finals in South Africa this year.
For full story go to here
World Cup 2010 – England door ’still open’ for Owen
Michael Owen’s hopes of playing for England again are not dead in the water, according to U21 boss Stuart Pearce.
For full story go to here
Capello should look at Bent – Bruce
Steve Bruce urged England boss Fabio Capello not to forget about Darren Bent after seeing him plunder a hat-trick to end Sunderland’s 14-game wait for a Barclays Premier League victory.
For full story go to here
Sir Alex Ferguson admits concern over England’s bugged hotel
• Manchester United manager recalls similar case at Old Trafford
• ‘I would be concerned about it. You have to be’
Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted news that the England squad’s hotel was bugged last week is a concern.
Although the precise details have not been revealed, it is thought the meeting room at their Watford hotel base for the friendly with Egypt were bugged ahead of the 3‑1 win for Fabio Capello’s team.
Ferguson and Manchester United were at the centre of a similar controversy in 2005, when listening devices were found in the home dressing room at Old Trafford after an encounter with Chelsea.
“It happened to us once before,” the Scot said. “I would be concerned about it. You have to be. Preparation involves discretion and secrecy. I haven’t revealed one bit of my tactics ahead of the [Milan] match tomorrow. I haven’t been asked. And do you know why? Because I wouldn’t tell anyone. Why should I tell anyone?
“Capello may have been discussing some important issues about his team. All of a sudden someone else has got it. It is a concern.”
For full story go to here
England step up security after team meetings bugged
• Capello conversations secretly recorded before Egypt game
• Football Association warns media not to make them public
The Football Association has moved to stop the contents of bugged conversations between players and coaching staff becoming public after a recording was offered to media outlets.
Conversations between the England coach, Fabio Capello, and the squad are understood to have been secretly recorded ahead of last week’s friendly against Egypt. The FA has launched an investigation into how they were made and warned newspapers and broadcasters not to make them public.
The incident is the latest blow to hit Capello’s World Cup build up, in the wake of the media frenzy that surrounded John Terry’s alleged affair with the ex-girlfriend of his international team-mate Wayne Bridge.
The recording, believed to be several hours long, is alleged to contain conversations between coaching staff and players at the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire ahead of the 3-1 victory over Egypt at Wembley last Wednesday.
Although they have not officially commented, the FA’s lawyers have contacted media organisations warning that publication of the contents of the recording would be illegal and a breach of the Data Protection Act and Press Complaints Commission rules.
Section 10 of the PCC code states: “The press must not seek to obtain or publish material acquired by using hidden cameras or clandestine listening devices; or by intercepting private or mobile telephone calls, messages or emails; or by the unauthorised removal of documents or photographs; or by accessing digitally held private information without consent.”
It is understood that the FA’s lawyers have also been in touch with the Daily Star, which hinted at the content of the conversations but did not reproduce them, in order to try to ascertain who was offering the recordings for sale and how they were made.
It has been suggested that the content of the tapes could give away Capello’s tactical secrets but it is likely that whoever is responsible was hoping for more blockbuster revelations about the England players’ private lives or evidence of the effect of the Terry story on the mood within the camp.
It is understood that the recordings were offered to several Sunday newspapers, which turned them down. Capello is believed to be concerned about the breach but the FA is confident that tight security around the England team at their remote Rustenburg training camp at this summer’s World Cup will prevent a repeat.
For full story go to here
Wes Brown injury unlikely to keep him out of World Cup
• Defender suffered suspected metatarsal fracture at Wolves
• Injury adds to Sir Alex Ferguson’s selection problems
Wes Brown is expected to be available for England’s World Cup campaign this summer despite increasing Fabio Capello’s defensive problems with a suspected metatarsal fracture sustained against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Manchester United are due to confirm the scan results on Brown’s injury today, although it is believed the 30-year-old, who left Molineux wearing a protective boot on his foot following a challenge with Matt Jarvis on Saturday, will be sidelined for six weeks with the problem. Brown’s absence is another setback for Sir Alex Ferguson, who has lost Michael Owen, Anderson, Ryan Giggs and John O’Shea to long-term injuries in recent weeks, but the timeframe would at least allow the defender to return to action before Capello finalises his World Cup squad.
Brown started at right-back for England against Egypt last week in the absence of Liverpool’s Glen Johnson, who has only just recovered from the knee ligament injury he suffered at Aston Villa on 29 December. With his left-back options thrown into turmoil by Ashley Cole’s broken ankle plus Wayne Bridge’s retirement from international football, and Rio Ferdinand restricted by injury this term, Capello can ill-afford further disruption to England’s defence before South Africa. Should Brown recover in six weeks, for the Manchester derby at Eastlands on 17 April, he would have just four league games to prove his fitness before the World Cup.
United’s selection problems for the Champions League return with Milan tomorrow also include Wayne Rooney, who missed the 1-0 win at Wolves with a knee problem aggravated against Egypt at Wembley. The leading scorer is still rated as doubtful for the Italians’ visit to Old Trafford.
The Football Association chairman, Lord Triesman, meanwhile, believes the Red Knights’ proposed takeover of United reflects a growing concern among supporters at how their clubs are run and believes a fan-run body could succeed in England. “There are some good fan-run clubs and there have been in England, too – there have been some clubs in difficulties where the fans have been the decisive factor such as York City and Bournemouth,” said Triesman.
The FA chairman refused to condemn the Glazers’ controversial ownership of United but admits supporters are right to respond to concerns over mounting debt. “Being a fan is a mixture of all sorts of things. It’s not a customer going into a shop. You want success on the pitch, there are deep cultural things involved, and most of the time you support the club your dad supported,” said Triesman. “There’s inevitably a sense of community, even if a club is a great international brand as well. It’s a huge mixture of things that fuel the emotion of football. My expectation always is that fans will be interested in the lot.”
He added: “I am really not saying Manchester United cannot deal with its overall financial arrangements but of course fans do take a view about whether their club is all right. If they have been very successful they want them to continue to be very successful so they are interested in where the funds are. As it happens I think United are a huge business capable of generating very, very big resources. It would be disappointing in any club if fans were not interested in the whole thing.”
