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The National Squad has already reduced its members to sixteen who are now contracted with BCB. This team will head for Multan on 24th July to take on Pakistan for their first match in Asian Test Championship.These sixteen boys are now carrying on their three-day weekly practice in BKSP, a sports training institute twenty miles away from the capital. Usually in BKSP, the practice session runs from Saturday to Monday. It begins from 6:30 in the morning. Trevor Chappell always gives importance on fitness; therefore, the morning begins with hard stretching.A long running session waits for those who are still struggling with their fitness. Mohammed Ashraful disclosed that they had to run continuously for almost an hour in this early hour session. Cricketers who are better fit start this running from 7:00 am.Then they are given a break. The second session keeps on from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, which includes net practice. The quick bowlers are seen firing on the cement track. Mohammed Sharif, who is now regarded as the fastest among Bangladeshi bowlers, has concentrated more on line and length. He looks more confident and matured as well. The two most recognized pace pair Hasibul and Manjurul are trying to put their recent overseas experience into operation.After these toil the players take a nap after lunch because the afternoon practice will soon begin from four o’clock. Under the guidance of Trevor the boys get on with fielding practice in this ending session in the BKSP Ground-1. Bangladesh floored a good number of catches in Zimbabwe. Keeping it in head Trevor put emphasis on this particular area.In June the players went through hard fitness training only, which was very monotonous and cumbersome. Some of the players even asked the coach to reduce the amount of labour. But Trevor explained, saying, " It is important to carry out fitness training in this way. You will see the outcome in future."As the Asian Test Championship is approaching; net practice is now becoming more vital. The players get a day off the field in Tuesday. They carry out weight training for the next two days in the BCB gymnasium at the early hours. In Wednesday and Thursday they select the BUET ground for additional net practice. On Friday the fatigue team members are given a complete rest.Khaled Masud, the vice-captain of the side is regaining his lost rhythm and fitness. He says he is almost fit to put on the keeping gloves again. He joined the side last week and kept on doing all those tough works with his mates. The doctor asked him to be off from taking any risky attempt still. A cordial Masud who received an ankle injury in Zimbabwe, said, " I think I am getting better these days. I don’t face any difficulty while doing running, stretching and all those. The doctor asked me to take the load gradually."So this veteran wicket keeper is optimistic to play in the Test Championship. Certainly it would be a great pleasure to see him back in the squad.The squad will undergo a fifteen-day training under Javed Miandad and Andy Roberts who are arriving soon. They are going to give expert instructions to the players over their related field. Trevor will warmheartedly welcome them, he says, " No doubt their specialized guidance would be beneficial. Both are great players and if we go along with their suggestions, we are looking forward to doing much better."

Celtic left it late against Aberdeen to seal Wilfried Nancy’s first win in charge of the club, as Kieran Tierney and James Forrest grabbed last-gasp goals.

The Hoops were drawing 1-1 with the Dons with 15 minutes to play, on course for a fifth straight game without a win, before Tierney popped up in the 88th minute to put them 2-1 up.

The moment that changed the game was created by substitute Colby Donovan, whose brilliant cross found the former Arsenal man at the back post to score.

Why Wilfried Nancy must finally unleash Colby Donovan

Nancy’s new 3-4-2-1 system has slowed down the academy graduate’s progress at Parkhead, because he has not started any of the manager’s games in charge yet.

This fresh formation means that there is no right-back position, which is where Donovan typically plays, in the side. Instead, there is a right-sided centre-back role and a right wing-back role.

Donovan should finally be unleashed as a starter by Nancy in a new role for him as a wing-back, because he has the attacking qualities to potentially be an effective player in that position.

The 19-year-old starlet has provided three assists in 12 appearances in the Scottish Premiership and Europa League combined this season, per Sofascore, including the one for Liam Scales against Sturm Graz in the clip above.

Donovan provided another reminder of the quality that he can offer at the top end of the pitch with his sublime ball into the box for Celtic’s second goal against Aberdeen, and that is why he should start in that new role against Livingston this afternoon.

If Nancy unleashes the teenage talent as a starter in that position, there could be an opportunity for another player in the squad to be sold next month.

The Celtic flop who should be sold in January

Since the new manager came through the door to play a new formation at Parkhead, Hyun-jun Yang has been playing as a wing-back for the Scottish giants.

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The South Korean attacker has started four of the manager’s five matches in all competitions, starting every game other than the League Cup final against St Mirren, but he has not offered much in the way of quality in the final third.

Since signing in 2023, the 23-year-old winger has only scored nine goals and provided ten assists in 63 appearances for Celtic in all competitions to date, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he has not offered a consistent threat in front of goal.

Journalist Graham Spiers noted that Yang is an “often-maligned” player, possibly because of his lack of goal contributions, but hailed some of the work that he did for Brendan Rodgers and Martin O’Neill.

His last two starts, against Dundee United and Aberdeen, show the best and the worst of the forward, explaining both why he may be underrated, yet also why the Hoops should cash in on him.

Hyun-jun Yang

Vs Dundee United

Vs Aberdeen

Minutes

86

69

Pass accuracy

94%

96%

Duels won

8/13

5/10

Tackles won

3/3

1/1

Shots on target

0

0

Key passes

0

1

Big chances created

0

0

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Yang did a lot of good work as a wing-back in those two matches, as he was reliable defensively and with his passes, but he lacked quality in and around the box, with no ‘big chances’ created or shots on target.

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Unfortunately, lacking quality in the final third has been the theme of the South Korean’s overall career at Parkhead, as evidenced by his aforementioned output for the club to date.

Yang has produced two goals and no assists in 19 appearances in all competitions this season, per Sofascore, which means that he has even fewer goal contributions than Donovan, who has recorded three assists.

This suggests that the Scottish full-back may carry an even greater threat at the top end of the pitch than the South Korean flop as a wing-back, which is why Nancy should make this change to the starting XI.

Related Bad news for Scales: Celtic opens talks to sign "immense" star in January

Celtic have reportedly opened talks to sign a star in a deal that could spell bad news for Liam Scales.

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Replacing Yang with Donovan would then allow the club to finally cash in on the winger, who would then not be a starting-calibre player, amid reported interest from Birmingham, Norwich, and Preston.

Paul Jewell has recently announced that Carlos Edwards will remain as captain next season even though many thought that new signing Luke Chambers would take the armband.

Edwards took over as captain last season when Grant Leadbitter was removed as captain and Jewell believes that Edwards is still the right man for the job.

The Trinidad and Tabago international did put in some solid shifts at right back last season and he certainly makes a better captain than Grant Leadbitter.

However, Edwards will be 34 in October so it is likely that he won’t be able to sustain a regular position in the team in the future. I don’t think that Edwards will be good enough to make the team by the end of this season and many would argue that Jewell should have replaced Edwards and named a younger player as captain for this coming season for the long term.

Although many have said that Chambers would make a good captain, others have claimed that young centre back Tommy Smith should have been named captain.

At the age of 22, Smith is young enough to lead the team for many years and he did impress at the end of last season. It would be great to see Smith take the captaincy and have a great season but personally I don’t think he is quite ready for that role. It would be hard for Smith to boss the team around as he still has a lot to learn himself and he hasn’t even played consistently well for a whole season yet. If anyone was going to take the captaincy off Edwards, for me it was always going to be new arrival Chambers.

Chambers has experience as captain from his former clubs and at the age of 26 is old enough to command respect within the team. One of the reasons Paul Jewell signed Chambers would have been because he has great leadership qualities; so why not make him captain?

The main argument against appointing him as captain would be that as he is a new arrival it wouldn’t be right to give him such a crucial role. Personally, I don’t think it matters whether a player has been at the club for years or is a new arrival because as long as they have the ability to lead and the respect of their team mates then they will make a good captain.

I agree with those who say that Chambers would make a good captain and I also agree that Smith will one day be a good choice. However, I think Jewell made the right choice by keeping Edwards as captain. Edwards has more experience than any other Ipswich player and he did a great job last season when he took over as captain. Additionally, by keeping the same captain it gives the side a bit of stability and consistency which is always useful.

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Jewell also brought up a good point when he said “It’s not really about who has the armband. It’s about what you do out on the pitch and in and around the club during the week. That’s what makes a leader”. I couldn’t agree more with Jewell’s logic here and he is saying all of the right things in this instance.

It is likely that Jewell’s plan is to see how the season goes and at some point he will decide it is the right time to replace Edwards as captain. I can see Chambers taking the armband around January or February time but really that shouldn’t change much within the team. Like Jewell says, it doesn’t matter who has the armband as all of the senior players are expected to offer something in terms of leadership and you always need more than one good leader within the team.  

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Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong believes his club’s victory in the pre-season Dublin Super Cup bodes well for the campaign ahead.City defeated a League of Ireland XI 3-0 on Saturday, before seeing off Serie A runners-up Inter Milan by the same score-line a day later.

Set to compete in the Champions League for the first time and now seen as genuine challengers for the English Premier League title, De Jong can sense the optimism among his teammates.

“Everybody’s excited to start the new season, especially after the win at the tournament today,” De Jong said.

“We just have to see how it goes and like I said everybody’s excited for the new season and we have to fight for every competition.”

“We’ll see at the end if we get some silverware.”

The newest addition to City’s expensively assembled squad is Argentina forward Sergio Aguero, who joined from Atletico Madrid last week for a reported fee of 35 million pounds.

Netherlands international De Jong believes such a costly outlay is an indication of the club’s intent to compete on all fronts in 2011/12.

“It’s a big signing,” he said.

“It’s a statement as well that we are serious contenders for every competition we’re in.”

“Every year is the same pressure for us. With spending money comes high expectations so we know that as a group and we just have to make sure we stick together.”

“And you need to add some extra power to your squad as well if you want to remain and fight in every competition.”

The biggest cloud on City’s horizon is the uncertain future of striker Carlos Tevez, who captained the team last season and finished as top scorer.

Tevez has sought a move away from Manchester to be closer to his family in Argentina.

Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure has sympathy for his teammate, but remains hopeful the 27-year-old can contribute to the City cause in the coming season.

“We all know his situation with his family and when he plays he’s not enjoying it because he’s not happy without his family,” Toure said.

“It’s a difficult situation. I don’t want to express my feelings about that, but if Carlos Tevez stays with us it will be fantastic as we’ve signed Aguero who plays in the (Argentina) national team with him.”

AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri said Alexandre Pato should not fear for his spot despite the addition of Antonio Cassano to the squad.

Allegri assured Pato that he would not be shuffled out of the side in preference to Cassano, with both players offering different qualities as final-third danger men.

“Pato should remain calm because he is an extraordinary player with great qualities. Cassano has completely different qualities. Pato is a real striker while Cassano passes the ball,” Allegri said.

“The fact Pato’s best quality is scoring goals is shown by the numbers because he played 100 matches and scored 50 goals. We cannot question Pato’s quality only because he played a bad game in Lecce (in Milan’s 1-1 draw last Sunday), no problem at all.”

Allegri praised Sunday’s Serie A opponent Cesena, who tested Milan’s city rivals Inter before going down 3-2 at the San Siro on Wednesday.

“I believe Cesena had a good game against Inter Milan on Wednesday. It’s a team with a good defence (and) they play well up front too,” the manager said.

“They’re good in recovering the ball, so we should be very careful. We can’t underestimate them and we need to play with great intensity like we did on Wednesday against Bari.”

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“It is important we get back to winning ways in the championship, that’s why we have to play the game the best we can.”

Milan will take on Cesena at the San Siro.

On the pitch at Euro 2012 so far, England have performed slightly above expectations after having them dampened so often by those in power, but the aftershocks of the situation that led to the side going into the tournament a month or so before without a manager in place are still being felt, and we shouldn’t forget to scrutinise the FA for their undoubted media mistakes along the way.

Fabio Capello resigned from the England job in early February this year, after he decided that getting a kicking from a bitter and somewhat xenophobic national press for not talking to them all that much while earning £6m-a-year just simply wasn’t worth all of the hassle. However, the straw that broke the camels backs was the FA’s mis-handling of the John Terry saga and it continues to botch one attempt to draw a line under the issue after another.

John Terry is innocent until proven guilty with concerns to the court trial he has coming up for an racially-aggravated public order offence, involving Anton Ferdinand. The thing that moronic fans often forget, when they boo Anton Ferdinand for being reportedly racially abused, is that it was a fan at the game that reported the incident rather than the player himself, hence why it has been dealt with by the courts rather than the FA as the Patrice Evra-Luis Suarez case was.

The fact that this was taken out of the FA’s hands has had a huge role to play in the mess they’ve repeatedly made. Only when it was revealed that the court case date was set for after Euro 2012 on July 9th did they make a decision themselves. They stripped John Terry of the captaincy when it became clear that the courts weren’t going to do them a favour and make the decision for them. This dithering approach isn’t a media strategy as such, it’s just downright idiotic. What followed was that Capello, quite rightly, saw this as a challenge to his authority and he fell on his sword. No manager at any level would stand for having the board tell them to get rid of his choice of captain.

Where the FA really fell down, though, was that they stripped Terry of the captaincy but stopped short of banning him from the squad. So instead you had this ludicrous half-measure that meant he could still go to Euro 2012 with a racism court case hanging over his head but just not as captain. The very reasons that meant the FA stripped him of it in the first place still existed – problems in the dressing room, a divided national team set-up – but the FA were only really interested in protecting their image, particularly with racism such a hot topic in Ukraine and Poland this summer.

It essentially left whoever took over the job with a terrible conundrum to face right away. Whatever course of action Roy Hodgson took, he was on a hiding to nothing. The FA had just passed on responsibility for the situation once again to someone else. The lack of leadership on display beggars belief.

So what happened next? Hodgson named his England squad and Rio Ferdinand was left out and John Terry was left in. The former West Brom boss simply said ‘footballing reasons’ were behind Ferdinand’s omission, but didn’t care to specify what exactly they were. Of course, there were very real concerns about Ferdinand’s fitness and ability to play two games in quick succession, but instead, both Hodgson and the FA remained quiet.

Ferdinand’s representative Jamie Moralee relseased a statement which read: “Lampard, Terry, Barry, Gerrard; all ageing but they go to the tournament. Why is Rio different? To treat a player that has captained and served his country 81 times (in this manner) is nothing short of disgraceful. Total lack of respect from Hodgson and the FA as far as I am concerned.”

Ferdinand then himself took to Twitter to tweet the short but rather unsubtle “what reasons????!!!!” in reference to Hodgson leaving him out of the squad. I think that it’s fair to say that there are classier ways of edging towards international retirement than this. The situation got even worse when Gary Cahill was ruled out of the tournament through injury and Liverpool’s back-up Martin Kelly was called up in his place, instead of Ferdinand.

On the 9th June, Hodgson finally revealed his footballing reasons and they actually made a lot of sense: “Rio Ferdinand for me is not a player that you call up as a substitute, or to cover for the players that you have. “We turned to Martin Kelly because I knew he was going to be someone who would be very useful to us. “He’s very happy to be here knowing that his chances of playing a big part in the tournament are quite small. “You don’t turn to people like Rio Ferdinand for that.”

Hodgson named his England squad on the 16th May, which is 24 days until he properly explained Ferdinand’s absence from the squad. It made sense when he eventually did, so why such the delay? What exactly is the FA’s director of communications team being paid to do unless it’s stopping stories like this from hogging the limelight? Sticking your head in the sand is not a strategy, and neither is putting your fingers in your ears and hoping for the best and that it will all just go away.

Hodgson later remarked that he was ‘surprised’ that everyone was still talking about the Ferdinand omission, which shows you the level he’s at when it comes to being able to play the media game, but the FA should know better. They’ve botched this situation from the off and the circumstances that led to Hodgson getting the job in the first place were solely down to their mis-handling of the affair.

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They’ve undermined two different managers in quick succession and essentially failed to make a decisive and clear decision of their own at every turn. Success on the pitch may have saved them, but as they have consistently shown in the past, it won’t be long until they make another horrendus gaffe.

You can follow me on Twitter @JamesMcManus1

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Wesley Sneijder is refusing to rule out the possibility of joining Manchester United this summer. The Dutch playmaker has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford, with Fergie himself conceding that he will be happy to sign him providing he conformed to the wage structure that is currently in place. Reports at the weekend suggested that United have issued him a take it or leave it ultimatum, as the club are refusing to meet his current demands.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Harry Redknapp dismayed by crazy wages; Alonso believes Liverpool will make the top four, while Joey Barton unleashes another twitter rant about Newcastle.

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Manchester United move still a possibility, admits Sneijder – Guardian

Redknapp dismayed by ‘crazy’ wages of players – Guardian

KO fear for Wilshere – Sun

Barton in Newcastle Twitter rant – Daily Telegraph

QPR boss Warnock to inherit transfer war chest with takeover imminent – Daily Mail

FA plan South America tour in 2013 to give players flavour of football in Brazil – Daily Mail

Wayne’s in the money at Swans – Sun

Xabi Alonso: Liverpool will be top four this season – Mirror

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Baines: We cannot use Arsenal pursuit of Jagielka as excuse – Mirror

Chelsea to launch third bid for Modric this week – Mirror

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From the United States’ political tussles with Iran and Iraq to the personal ‘beef’ fought out between gangsters and rappers from the east and west sides of Los Angeles, there has always been a fierce rivalry between the east and the west in virtually any part of the world. And the same applies to the footballing landscape in London, England where West Ham United and Chelsea ply their sporting trade; with the former representing the east side of the capital and the latter on behalf of the west.

They are the two biggest clubs from their respective areas, but if you take a look at the current Barclays Premier League table then you will see that there is a substantial difference in stature between the two. Both their respective league positions will testify the difference between the two clubs on and off the pitch. Despite Chelsea’s recent problems, they are in small pickings compared to that of the Hammers as the gulf between them in terms of size, revenue and success on the pitch could not be much vaster in the top division at the time of writing.

But amazing as it may sound to some people, until 1994 there was not much to separate the two sides in terms of their past triumphs and their potential for future success. They had both achieved a very mild degree of affluence up to that point, but in the sixteen years since then, the Blues of the west have eclipsed anything that the Hammers of the east have achieved in their entire history. So let’s take a trip back to 1994.

It’s the end of the 1993-94 Premiership season and West Ham have just finished 13th whilst Chelsea have finished 14th. The Hammers are without a major trophy since 1980 whilst the Blues’ barren spell goes back even further; they are without a significant honour to their name since winning the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971. Their respective honours stand up relatively equal to each other if you take into account the popular use of applying points to each significant piece of silverware a club has won; 10 points for winning a League Championship, 10 for a major European trophy excluding the European Cup/Champions League which is equal to 15 points, 6 for an FA Cup win, and 3 for a League Cup triumph. From this point of view West Ham are on 28 points whilst Chelsea are on 26.

Looking back at this time it seems hard to believe now, but it was not until Matthew Harding ploughed his millions into Chelsea in 1994 that they actually showed signs of improving. They reached the final of the FA Cup in 1994 and the semi-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup in ’95, but even then they were still finishing in the bottom half of the table. And in the years before these mini-triumphs, they were the epitome of mediocrity – no major trophies won since 1971 and apart from a fifth place finish in 1990 they spent much of their time in the lower reaches of the top-flight – occupying five of their ten seasons in the 1980’s stuck in the old Second Division.

In 1982, whilst in the second tier of English football, Ken Bates bought the club for £1 thus inheriting and taking responsibility for the club’s debts of £1.5 million. This was not a club that were exactly ‘going places’, but a combination of level-headedness, in not getting ahead of themselves expecting quick-fire success, and a tightening of the purse strings meant that the club’s off-the-field matters were stabilised giving them the potential to gradually grow into the force that they are today.

It took a couple of years for Harding’s revolution to take shape. You could say the ball that is still rolling started in the summer of 1995 when, under Glenn Hoddle as manager, they acquired the services of former European footballer of the year Ruud Gullit; a winner of numerous domestic and continental honours for club and country and although they managed to finish in a meagre 11th place at the end of the 1995-96 season (one position behind West Ham which, incidentally, was the last time to date that the Hammers have finished above their west London rivals) the signing of Gullit was a sign of things to come.

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Continued on Page TWO

Harding’s funds in helping import an influx of top continental players would be something that the Stamford Bridge faithful would become accustomed to. At the start of the 1996/1997 season, tempted by Harding’s millions and the presence of Mr. Gullit, now installed as player/manager with Hoddle appointed England national coach, they acquired the services of players such as Frank Lebeouf, Roberto Di Matteo, Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli; the latter fresh from winning the Champions League with Juventus. Players of this quality would unlikely have gone to a side that had consistently finished in the bottom half of the table throughout their history, let alone the season just gone, without someone of Gullit’s stature in the game being at the club.

And it was in this campaign that Chelsea’s first real success came to fruition where, in the season that Harding tragically died in a helicopter crash on his way home from a League Cup tie at Bolton Wanderers, they beat Middlesboro to win the FA Cup whilst finishing the league campaign in a healthy sixth place. Chelsea, to date, have never finished a season outside the top-six since and this statistic will no doubt continue for a few more years yet and since that season they have won three League Cups, a Cup Winners’ Cup, four more FA Cups and of course, three league titles. West Ham meanwhile, are still without a major trophy since their FA Cup win over Arsenal in 1980.

Whereas Chelsea made use of the foundations that were laid down in the boardroom by Bates, Harding and their associates, West Ham have yet to find any. It is too early to say whether the David Gold/David Sullivan team can weave their magic wand upon the Upton Park trophy cabinet, turning its ever-occupying dust into silverware, but it could quite possibly be the start of ‘something’.

Ken Bates bought out the Blues, ridded them of their debts and gave them stability whilst Gold and Sullivan are attempting to do the same after the debacle that occurred under Eggert Magnusson’s Icelandic consortium which still leaves West Ham in a financial mud heap to climb from. There is undoubted potential for the Hammers being the only major club side from the east end, with a fan base that stretches out to the far reaches of Essex and if Chelsea can achieve all they have achieved then there is no reason why West Ham cannot do the same. The clubs were like two peas in a pod before the money came rolling in for the Blues with backing from men with a passion for the club’s well being.

The Irons have not found a man like Matthew Harding who lived and breathed Chelsea from when he was a boy and who, when given the chance, made the right investments which enabled the re-development of the infrastructure at Stamford Bridge with the building of a new stand, plus the all-important aspect of attaining the right players either by transfers or from their now much lauded youth academy. This was all Harding’s doing. The work he did for Chelsea was just as integral to their current success as the role played by Roman Abramovich has been. They were already an established top-six side when Abramovich took over in 2003 and much of that was down to Harding. The first brick laid in the construction of Chelsea’s title winning side in 2005 was planted by Matthew Harding in 1994.

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Manchester City have a reasonably illustrious history but don’t forget that they were a League One side in 1999 and have often been propping up the top half of the table since they returned to the Premiership until, of course, the money rolled in giving a guile and confidence to the club. I know it’s now that matters and football didn’t end in 1994 but it’s an interesting case in point to look back and see how similar they were to each other until Chelsea were bankrolled properly unlike the shenanigans that seems to occur at West Ham each time a new owner takes over leading to the inevitable debts that engulf the club.

It’s not all doom and gloom for West Ham fans. Things can change. Chelsea were the same as West Ham are now so the latter just need to find a foundation on which to build success upon just as Matthew Harding did. Maybe the Hammers have finally found the right men in messrs Gold and Sullivan but only time will tell and that will only be confirmed when there is not a snigger to be heard when a West Ham fan says: ‘I think we will beat Chelsea.’

Written By Ricky Murray at ‘This is Futbol’

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England’s record of never beating Sweden at a major international tournament came to an end on Friday night, as they dramatically captured a 3-2 victory in Kiev. For many England fans, the praise was aimed at Theo Walcott, who came on to change the game and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with a goal, followed by an assist for Danny Welbeck.

The 23 year-old hasn’t started either of England’s matches so far at Euro 2012, but has appeared from the bench twice to play on the right hand side of England’s midfield. Is it possible that Roy Hodgson sees Walcott best used as an impact sub?

The opening game against France didn’t see him make the headlines as heroically as his antics against Sweden, only appearing for the duration of injury time. As England went 2-1 down to Sweden, Hodgson immediately turned to Walcott to salvage the game. His pace and eagerness to attack an out of shape and tired Swedish back four ultimately made the difference.

Therein lies Walcott’s threat. For Arsenal and England, his attacking prowess is mainly owed to his speed rather than his technical ability. At times, Walcott has baffled many as such a disappointing underperformer. An English youngster who had so much potential but was yet to achieve nor was he appearing to develop at the highest level.

Roy Hodgson is not the only one who may serve to see Walcott as only an impact sub. His club manager Arsene Wenger has at times relied on the ex-Saints man to make the difference from the bench. Even defensively, brining on Walcott can have an impact as his pace terrifies full backs, making them reluctant to push forward for a fear of being caught out on the counter attack.

As England manager, many questions are continuously asked of Roy Hodgson and his team selections are not easy decisions. Choosing James Milner or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the starting line up givesEnglanda different dimension to what Walcott can offer. Milner will work hard, spraying passes around midfield whilst staying defensively disciplined. Oxlade-Chamberlain is powerful, direct and intelligent. Walcott offers something completely different, as he charges at defences and makes runs in behind full backs. This change in playing styles with just a substitution can bemuse opponents and turn a game on its head, as Walcott demonstrated in Kiev.

Similarly, if a fresh legged opponent is going into the game with the knowledge Theo Walcott is starting, the playing style Walcott possesses is at times simple and can prove easy to defend. Walcott becomes ineffective and his presence on the pitch is scarcely noticed. As an oncoming substitute, the difference is simple: the players he faces are more fatigued and find him difficult to handle.

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As 23 year old Walcott fights for fitness for the remainder Euro 2012,England fans will be hoping he can be fit as soon as possible, as his impact from the bench has already played a role in their tournament.

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Liverpool finally sealed the deal for Stewart Downing as the Reds took their summer spending through the £50m barrier. Kenny Dalglish clearly believes buying the best of British is the ideal way to restore the club to its former glories, despite the premium cost that comes with it.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include; Toure eyes title for Manchester City; Chelsea set to bid £30m+ for Modric, while a friend of Fabregas calls on Arsene Wenger to stop acting like a clown.

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Corinthians make new Tevez offer – Sky Sports

Chelsea to up Modric bid beyond £30m – Guardian

Friend of Fabregas tells Wenger to stop ‘acting like a clown’ – Daily Mail

Just call me Yaya glory – Sun

Downing completes move to Liverpool – Guardian

Peacemaker Barton calms Newcastle louts as violence mars pre-season friendly – Daily Mail

Liverpool urge Uefa to look into City’s Etihad deal – Guardian

Tottenham miss out on their own Chicharito – Mirror

Arsenal on cusp of signing Costa Rica starlet Campbell – Daily Mail

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Chelsea want to buy Parker rather than borrow him – Mirror

United’s Sneijder bid hits rocks – Daily Telegraph

Essien blow gives Josh his chance – Sun

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