Scott Loach? Frankie Fielding? Robert Green may as well retire now

This England squad becomes more and more laughable every day of the week. First Paul Robinson and Wes Brown retire after being called up for the squad, five first team players don't train on the Monday and then Darren Bent and Ben Foster withdraw from the squad through injury. This leaves Fabio Capello with Joe Hart and no back up. Hart is a goalkeeper with great potential and if we are building towards the future Hart is the way to go, but this season there is a serious possibility that he won't even be first choice for his club Manchester City and could face another loan spell to another Premiership club.

With the retirement of Robinson and the withdrawal of Foster, Fabio Capello has called up Watford's Scott Loach and Blackburn's Frankie Fielding into the squad as cover ahead of the friendly. Fielding who has not yet made a competitve appearence for his club Blackburn started last nights friendly victory and did not have to make a save as England Under 21's strolled to victory past Uzbekistan. Fiedling will now join up with the full England squad to provide cover for Scott Loach. So where does this leave Robert Green?

During the qualification campaign for the World Cup Robert Green was England's number one and in early June Green was competing with David James for Fabio Capello's number one spot for England's World Cup opener against the USA. Now before the season has even began Robert Green's international future is over. After making the biggest mistake of his career helping Clint Dempsey's tame long range effort cross the line Robert Green has not been forgiven by Capello and possibly may never get another chance to prove his worth.

This shows just how many options England have between the sticks. Chris Kirkland's fitness problems means his England career was over years ago and West Brom's Scott Carson has not been mentioned since he made his own clanger against Croatia when England failed to qualify for Euro 2008. David James who has now turned 40 has said he won't retire but it looks like he Capello has already told him he has no International future and it will really take a mircale for Robert Green to be given a second chance.

Lets just hope Joe Hart does not have a great deal to do tonight because should Joe Hart become the next England goalkeeper to make a mistake who knows where Capello goes from here.

A quick recap on everything in Sport

It's been a while since I posted anything so I'm going to do a quick recap of everything that happened over the last few days.

Main Headline:
The main headline of the weekend is league runners up Manchester United defeated double winners Chelsea in the FA's traditional opener to the new season 'The Charity Shield'. It was quite a convincing win for United with Antonio Valenica opening the scoring in the first half with a simple finish.
I didn't watch the first half as I was watching the Cricket & completely forgot it was even happening shows how much The Charity Shield means to a neutral football fan) but from reviews and several friends Facebook status' I did not miss a great deal. The second half I did watch & I was very impressed with Manchester United's new star Javier Hernandez. He looks to have very good movement, I wouldn't say he has blistering pace but he has enough pace to worry defenders & he seems very alert in the box. He took up an excellent position for his goal I want to say he took it well but how he manages to volley the ball onto his own face goes beyond me. Chelsea did manage to pull a goal back after Saloman Kolou put away the rebound from a powerful Daniel Sturridge effort but a third goal by Manchester United ended all hopes of Chelsea mounting a comeback. I have to say Dimitar Berbatov's goal was an absolute delightful finish lobbing Chelsea reserve goalkeeper Hilario from the edge of the box leaving the keeper in no-man's land. Berbatov even celebrated with the Manchester United fans which was something that didn't happen a lot last season. Everybody knows Berbatov has talent so maybe this is the season he steps up and shows he can be a Manchester United player.

On a side-note it was a masterclass from man of the match Paul Scholes who has not lost anything over the pre-season. His passing was outstanding and after a discussion with a close friend I have to say he is the best English player since Paul Gascogine.

Fabregas staying at Arsenal (For now):
There won't be many Arsenal fans who actually cared about the Charity Shield yesterday but the biggest news coming out of Arsenal this weekend is their captain Cesc Fabregas will be staying at Arsenal for at least another year after respecting Arsenal's decision not to listen to offers from Barcelona.
Now that Barcelona have admitted defeat in re-signing for at least another year Cesc Fabregas must focus on getting fit and helping Arsenal try and end the long run without a trophy. News coming out of Arsenal is that Robin van Persie and Fabregas himself will miss the first game of the season against Liverpool. This is a blow for Arsenal but Arsenal proved last year they are capable of winning games without their big names. Responsibility will fall on Samri Nasri and Andrey Arshavin to supply new signing Marouane Chamakh to score the goals that could give Arsenal a big advantage over rivals Liverpool and Manchester City and Tottenham who play each other on the first day of the season.

Capello announces England squad:
Fabio Capello this weekend announced his first England squad since a dismal World Cup campaign. Capello has left out David James, Robert Green, Michael Carrick, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe. Emile Heskey and Jamie Carragher who retired from International football after the World Cup are also missing.
Fabio Capello has kept his faith in the big names who flopped this summer with Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole and captain Steven Gerrard all being named in the squad alongside Gareth Barry, Glen Johnson and James Milner. Fabio Capello hands Theo Walcott a re-call alongside Darren Bent and Adam Johnson who missed out after being named in England's provisional 30 man squad. Ashley Young and Paul Robinson earn re-calls alongside Phil Jagielka who after an injury hit season looks to be batling it out alongside Bolton's Gary Cahill and Tottenham's Michael Dawson for a place in the back four alongside John Terry.
In the new England era Capello has turned to two Arsenal youngsters - Jack Wilshire and Keiron Gibbs. Jack Wilshire has impressed Capello and after a successful loan spell at Bolton has returned to Arsenal looking to establish himself as a regular in the Arsenal first team. Bobby Zamora and Carlton Cole replace Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch in the squad, this has surprised many but many feel Bobby Zamora deserves his chance after a very successful season at Fulham.

England squad in full to face Hungry on Wednesday:

Goalkeepers: Ben Foster (Birmingham), Joe Hart (Manchester City),

Paul Robinson (Blackburn)

Defenders:

Wes Brown (Manchester United)

, Gary Cahill (Bolton), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), John Terry (Chelsea)

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Aston Villa), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

Forwards: Darren Bent (Sunderland), Carlton Cole (West Ham United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Bobby Zamora (Fulham)

England troubles:

Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson and Manchester United defender Wes Brown have retired from International Football days after being called up by Fabio Capello. Five players including Darren Bent who today has withdrawn from the squad missed Monday's training but are expected to train tomorrow ahead of the friendly on Wednesday. John Terry and Frank Lampard took part in the warm up but sat out training and Gareth Barry missed out with an ankle problem. Capello has just 16 available players for training on Monday giving more opportunities to Bobby Zamora, Keiron Gibbs and Jack Wilshire who are all expected to make their debuts on Wednesday.

Andrews View:
First of all, what is the actual point of this friendly? The season hasn't even started yet, so how can Fabio Capello possibly drop and select new players to build a new era. FIFA and the FA argue that with competitive internationals in September this is a chance for International teams to warm up for these qualifiers. How exactly? I'm not exactly sure. If England have the same squad available in a months time I will be amazed.
So the squad? Where do I start? I understand David James being dropped as he is now 40 and has just joined Bristol City. Robert Green must feel very hard done to and must have doubts over his International future. Joe Hart and Ben Foster are the obvious choices for the future but I still don't understand why you need three goalkeepers in each squad when only two of them play. Ashley Cole is the best left back we have giving him the first 45 minutes makes sense with Keiron Gibbs making his debut in the second half. Keiron Gibbs will learn a lot from Ashley Cole but what are Michael Dawson, Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka really going to learn by playing alongside John Terry against Hungry?
If Gareth Barry is injured, even if it's minor and after such a poor World Cup why is Tom Huddlestone not even in the squad? What was the point in even selecting him in the 30 man provisional squad for the World Cup if he's not going to be selected in the next squad.
There is no Joe Cole which again surprises me but Fabio Capello was obviously not impressed and only seemed to play him in the World Cup to answer questions from the media and fans. Theo Walcott should of never been left out the World Cup squad and Capello now knows it by dropping Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips who both had awful World Cups. I would expect Walcott to start on the right side of a three with Ashley Young playing on the left side of Wayne Rooney.
I could go on forever with this squad but my final point is the call of Bobby Zamora who in my opinion is not International class and I would of much prefered to see Gabriel Agbonlahor given his chance as I see him having a better chance of being part of England's Euro 2012 squad.

How can anyone seriously post this?

Reading through 'The Guardian' football transfer rumours is quite comical at times but this post today really made me laugh. I won't bother putting any opinions on this one myself because I'm completely lost for words how The Guardian, maybe the best internet blog site for sport there is (in my opinion) can even post this onto their website.

So read on and try and keep a straight face if you can!

Meanwhile, at White Hart Lane, Harry Redknapp risks coming to blows with his former assistant, Tony Pulis. The pair are both trying to lure Nice striker Loïc Rémy, who has given a strong hint as to which he finds more attractive by admitting: "I visited [Stoke] with my agent but it must be said it's not a club in keeping with what I wanted. They have a beautiful stadium all the same and the training facilities aren't bad. Tottenham? I haven't been there but it's a good club with aspirations of getting even bigger. So they are obviously interesting."

Pulis will console himself over Rémy's rejection by attempting to convince Sevilla's Luís Fabiano, formerly a target of Spurs, to turn down Marseille and come to the beautiful Britannia instead. And if that doesn't work, Pulis will swallow his pride and just ask Redknapp to give him Peter Crouch.

You've heard the one about James Milner going to Manchester, right?

Wrong! Because you thought he was heading to City, but the word on the street now is that it's United who will nab him in the end. And when that sale goes through for a preposterous amount of money, Martin O'Neill will have a few million more ways to persuade Steven Pienaar to swap Everton for Aston Villa. Serie A side Palermo, meanwhile, want to prise Leon Osman away from Goodison Park.

Tottenham seeded for Champions League Playoff

Tottenham have been seeded for the UEFA Champions League playoff drawn which will be drawn tomorrow (Friday 6th August). Spurs join Ajax, Seville, Werden Breman and Zenit St. Pettersburg as the seeded teams for a chance of playing in the group stage of the Champions League. Tottenham could face either Auxerre, Braga, Dynamo Kiev, Sampdoria or Young Boys for a place in the group stage of the Champions League.

Seeded Teams:

Ajax (Hol)

Seville (Spa)

Tottenham Hotspur (Eng)

Werden Breman (Ger)

Zenit St. Pettersburg (Rus)

Unseeded Teams:

Auxerre (Fra)

Braga (Por)

Dynamo Kiev (Ukr)

Sampdoria (Ita)

Young Boys (Swi)

Breaking News: HMRC lose high court against Portsmouth

Portsmouth have won the latest round of their survival battle after the tax authorities failed in an appeal over the club's Company Voluntary Agreement.

Portsmouth warned they could go out of business if Thursday's tax ruling in the High Court goes against them. But now Portsmouth have won the the case fans and players can now look towards their first game in the Championship against Coventry at the Ricoh Arena.

More to follow.......

Breaking News: There is None

Comedian Kevin Bridges said it best this week on the last episode of Channel 4 TV show 'Stand Up for the Week'. Whats happened in the world of sport this week? Nothing! The biggest sport occasion this week was Cricket as England thrashed Pakistan at Trent Bridge in the 1st Test. A test I had the pleasure of seeing every run scored and every wicket taken from behind the bowlers arm working on the bar in the impressive Derek Randell Suite. Fernando Torres has told Liverpool he's staying (big shock, didn't see that one coming). Sky Sports has began it's build up to The Football League (which I'm actually quite excited about for a change), and of course most un-important game in the English Football Calender - The Charity Shield is this Sunday. I'll give you my prediction for that one now - it will be boring, slow paced, the Wembley pitch will again be rubbish and either Manchester United or Chelsea will win a trophy that neither of them care about.

The English transfer market continues to make very slow progress with teams not willing to pay out the fees they have paid out in the past. It really puts in perspective just how poor some of the performances were in the World Cup was when no club have really took an interest in any of the players who did shine. Mesut Oezil of Werder Bremen during the World Cup was outstanding for Germany but none of the bigger clubs across Europe seem remotely interested. Luis Suarez of Ajax also impressed (even if he did cheat, just a little bit) but Ajax have put a price of 30 million euros on their star player knowing no-body is willing to put that kind of money. Interestingly that makes him just 4 million euros off the price Valencia sold David Villa to Barcelona (I know which player I would rather have).

In a rather dull transfer window there has been money spent, Manchester City have spent over £60 million with the signings of Yaya Toure from Barcelona, David Silva from Valenica and Jermone Boateng from Hamburg. Yaya Toure apparently cost them £30 million and around £200,000 a week in wages which I find laughable and Barcelona must be very happy about this deal. Manchester United may not have bought the profile players there fans are used to but they have still spent over £15 on Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez. Most of which I believe will be in installments and future achievements of the players and the club. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is looking for three more players but so far have only strengthened there squad bought with Brazilian Sandro signing from International for an undiscoled fee. Sandro is a player of some talent, which really makes me wonder why Harry Redknapp was looking to bring in West Ham's Scott Parker when they already have future England international Tom Huddlestone and Wilson Palacious who I believe to be the best defensive midfielder in the country.

The only transfer activity at the moment is Ramires of Benfica to Chelsea. Well I'm being generous when I say from Benfica, they only own 20% of the player, the other 80% is owned by the same agent of Carlos Tevez (who you have to admit has some good taste in footballing talent). This transfer looks to be a complicated one but with Ramires expected to have a medical at Chelsea on Wednesday (today) we could see Ramires starting for Chelsea in the Premiership opener at home to West Brom.

Two players who I am amazed no-body has took an interest in are Manchester City's Steven Ireland and Joe Hart. It's pretty obvious they are not going to be first choice this season so why are teams in the Premiership not looking at these fantastic young players? Aston Villa would be reculent to sell James Milner to Manchester City for obvious reasons but Steven Ireland would do a club like Aston Villa a great job. If Martin O'Neill is willing to pay £10million plus for Stuart Downing then Steven Ireland at under £10 million seems a bargain. I also think these two young players could do a fantastic job at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger obviously wants another goalkeeper after losing faith in Manuel Almunia numerous times and Arsenal are a club in a pretty good financial position compared to the teams around them and Steven Ireland is a player who could fit in at Arsenal. His link up with forward players is outstanding, he's technically very good (because he's not English) and he also works very hard in the middle of the field, a quality the Arsenal midfield lacks in the big games.

Eventually the transfer window will liven up, in the last week when teams register there 25 players. Clubs will become willing to offload players on loan to the Championship and will lower the evaluation of players. Who knows, Blackpool may actually be able to register 25 players instead of 15. Until then expect the breaking news to be limited and the rumours about players joining your club to be laughable and quite unrealistic. As a Stoke City suppoter I won't be taking anything for granted until I see the players in a Stoke City shirt on the back of local newspaper being quoted of the dream is to play in the Premiership and looking forward to the challenge.

Torres staying at Liverpool

Fernando Torres has insisted he is happy to stay at Liverpool after the Spanish striker's future has been under constant doubt whilst he was away at the World Cup this summer.

Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City have been linked but have never made a formal approach for the player, while Barcelona have also been linked.

Torres has showed his loyalty to Liverpool claiming "This is the best club in the country so the targets and expectations are always high". Torres has also told the club offical website he is looking forward to working alongside new signing Joe Cole. After meeting with new boss Roy Hodgson Torres expressed his appreciation for Roy coming to see him while he was on his holidays.

"He told me about his plans for the club and what he wanted from me and I appreciated that. I hope he will be the right man to reach the targets of Liverpool Football Club and I am really looking forward to working with him."

Andrews View:

Was this really in doubt? Fernando Torres was never going to leave Liverpool this summer no matter who was the manager or the owner. In the recent financial state no club other than Manchester City can afford the demands Liverpool would expect for the sale of their star man. So now that this speculation is over, Sky Sports News can stop trying to make a story, Manchester City can stop pretending they would be able to sign him and Liverpool fans can go back to believing they can win the title if they can keep Torres fit and on his best form.