Sir Bobby

A fantastic footballing man. His time as England manager took us to the nearest we have been to the great prize since 1966. The World Cup semi-final of 1990 against West Germany will remain in the memory of all those who watched the game.

Prior to the tournament and including the first game against the Republic of Ireland, the English national media were hostile to the manager. Before the tournament began it was established that Bobby Robson would not be the England manager afterwards.

Italia 90 however turned into a great event for England, and Sir Bobby silenced his critics. Sir Bobby characterised the gritty, sporting and determined approach the team displayed. We could have won the tournament, we just needed the rub of the green during that epic semi- final. Thanks for the memory, it is a good one.

Michael Owen goes to United

Actually, it was not surprising that Michael Owen finds himself in the Manchester United squad. After his signing on Friday 3rd July, the press seem to think it is a “shock” signing. I posted a comment on The Times comment board saying that Michael would be the perfect replacement for Carlos Tevez on June 23rd.

It makes perfect sense. If Liverpool were not prepared to re-sign him then why not go to the “auld enemy”?

Owen is a great player. He has been one of the best players in Premiership history and can score at any level. There is a belief that teams find it difficult to integrate Owen in the pattern of play. Rubbish!
Owen should be deployed upfront and if a team can find him in the last third of the pitch, he can be devastating. OK, he may have lost some pace, but that is compensated by experience. He is a natural goal scorer, and even if he is not apart of the play, opposing teams are distracted by his runs and the need to keep him in check, thus allowing space for the other attackers.

The forthcoming season will be crucial to Michael and his World Cup ambitions. He is now well and truly in the International shop window. This writer would love to see a fit, inform Michael Owen back in the England squad. Capello is a connoiseur of football and Michael has yet to make the Italian’s squad, mainly due to bad form, injury and Capello’s game plan. It could be that Capello is going to receive the greatest boost to his squad in a reborn Michael Owen. If Michael can recapture his form and produce a season of football that we know he is capable of then a recall must be on the cards. Let’s see if it happens but there is no doubt here, Michael you can do it!

Mini Dress Rehearsal

Well now that the Summer is here the football is over, except for the Confederations Cup and the European Under 21 Championships. The Confederations cup gave us a dress rehearsal for the World Cup with 8 teams playing in the tournament in South Africa.

The games were characterised by the dark Southern Hemisphere night and the need for strong floodlighting. The recent Lions Tour in Rugby Union showed us the conditions in daylight which seemed to be an unfamiliar autumnal light.

By all accounts the tournament was a success, though logisitical issues were seen and can be fine tuned for next year. Brazil won the tournamnent and the most noteworthy result was the defeat of Spain by the USA in the semi final 2-0. We must always remember that it is eleven good men against eleven good men on the day. Spain did however look the better team in the game.

The Under 21 championships saw England get to the final but to lose 4-0 to Germany, who incidentally are Under 17 and Under 19 Europen Champions as well. A lot of talk about Stuart Pearce in the media, as a potential England manager. Hopefully this position will not be vacant for some years to come. Capello has no plans to retire does he?

The Confederations cup certainly whetted the appetite for next Summer. The night games will be interesting. No, bright but then fading light as in a European Summer, but dark nights and floodlit games. Can’t wait!