"Capello was exactly what we needed!" —Frank Lampard "He is one of those managers in that handful around the world who are the best!" —Steven Gerrard "He's given the players confidence and the team a huge amount of respect!" —David Beckham "Who knew?" —Steve McClaren Okay, so I made up that last one. And I […]

Until Fabio Capello took the wheel at England FC, I had this vision of an England World Cup qualifier 40 years from now: England are facing Croatia (who else) in a must-win fixture. The Three Lions are playing with ten men, though nobody's been ejected. On 25 minutes, Luca Modric III goes in for an […]

Since the turn of the year, Aaron Lennon has been in outstanding form. His club exploits have been rewarded with not just an international call up, but a place in the starting eleven in England’s last two matches, the latter being a competitive qualifier. This is just rewards for Lennon as he has been absolutely […]

Gentleman, let us put away childish things. Yes, international breaks can provide some godawful football. Yes, it doesn’t seem fair for a player to risk injury for a team he plays with only five times a year and miss games for the club that employs him on a weekly basis. Yes, nations like Lichtenstein don’t […]

Why can't Stewart Downing show us the form that makes him such a sought after player when he pulls on the England shirt? There is no doubting that at Premier League level, Downing is one of the most dangerous and creative players in the country but after Saturdays performance against Slovakia, it's clear to see […]

Fabio Capello's quiet demeanor and considered words give him an aura of deep intelligence and authority, so much so it can sometimes seems he's foreseen everything through 2010 and beyond. But this week the aura's faded a bit under over doubts about his decision last week to call-up perma knee-knacked Tottenham defender Ledley King, and […]

Say what you will about David Beckham, but at least the man isn't on Twitter. Too bad in a way, because Beckham epitomizes the Internet age. Thirty years ago, football's ignominious sideshow used to be known only to players and pub owners; today, David Beckham has made the 24 hour netnews tabloid periphery the main […]

Title race back on, blah blah blah, Aston Villa torn apart like a dingo on a newborn, yada yada yada, England expects ahead of international week—wait just one minute there, pal. It would be safe to say that Villa is a sort of stand-in England B side in the Premier League, at least according to […]

I’m just going to come right out and say it: I suck at Photoshop. A year ago, a Digital Photography course I had to take for my degree at university pushed me head-first into the world of photo-doctoring. Not to the point where we were creating things that weren’t there, but just touching pictures up […]

Well this may come as some surprise, but a film about a manager that only had one season in the Premiership may not garner the most interest outside of the United Kingdom but Brian Clough is a legend in European football. Today sees the film version of David Peace's tome have its World Premier in […]

Anyone who's caught Tottenham in action recently will not fail to have been impressed by Aaron Lennon's recent form on the right hand side of Spurs' midfield. For me, it'll be a major surprise if he's not in Fabio Capello's next England squad for the Friendly against Slovakia and the qualifier in Kiev against the […]

I’ve wondered for a long time what it is that managers see in Stewart Downing, particularly England managers. Since his first call up in February 2005, Downing has been pretty much been a regular in the England squad, but why? I don’t understand how one player can have gained 22 caps without ever making an […]

Slowly but surely, more details are coming out about England's new home shirt scheduled to be unveiled on March 28th when England plays Slovakia at Wembley. In a new article on the Umbro blog entitled "The New England Kit: How It All Began," Umbro senior designer David Blanch reveals that the new England shirt will […]

The Football Association has unveiled a new Three Lions Crest for the FA and England teams, which will be worn for the first time when England wears their new Umbro shirts for the March 28th friendly against Slovakia at Wembley. Pictured above is the new FA crest (left) and the new England one (right). The […]

Is it or isn't it? That's the question regarding the recently leaked photographs of the alleged new England home shirt. Umbro says it's fake, but I'm still not 100% convinced. And now, there's a new piece of evidence that casts doubt on Umbro's story. Last week, Umbro unveiled its newest version of its logo — […]