Anyone for Curry Neville.......

So once again the pub beckons for our deadly duo of old school football pundit and it's curry night to boot!

The Midweeker is threatening to throw his well worn trilby into the ring for the vacant Wolves job and The Weekender is considering caretakering duties in Poland this Summer.........

MW:With the latest England squad throwing no surprises other than the fact that John Terry wasn't included..... well he is injured! The only debate left now is who's gonna be the next captain? My vote would be with Scott Parker, he is a big reason why one team in North London is challanging for the title! People are saying that Gerrard should be given it, I'm sure that happened once before for a short period.....

My concern with the pub team we call England is that the FA pull the strings, we  need a revolution, someone in the shape of 'Arry to mix it up, give a few random's a game, the likes of Dawson, Jarvis, Richardson, Sturridge and Sinclair. The last of the golden generation need to step to one side, return to the day job. Look at Spain, there team has a healthy mix of youth and manhood! Players need to perform in order to play, If Torres was English the FA would expect him to play every game for the national side, even on current form, The Spanish take a different view, a view that everyman should be at the top of his game even to get a call up to the squad!

Weekender what do you think about this curry situation? have you been served yet?

WE: Have I bollocks!? This Curry Club should be in The Blue Square Premier! Talk about bad service, nearly as bad as the form the FA have shown over the decades and not making you manager!
Players should be picked on form, Richards should have been in that team months ago but every manager has their favourites! Can you tell me Redknapp won't pick his Nephew once his in charge? He'll be in the dog house with Sandra if he don't!
In my view let Pearce take us through the Euros - win, lose or draw just get the thing out the way and then have 'arry take over, give him free reign to do what he wants, what have the FA got to lose?? He's the people's choice............

MW: I find it odd though that them suited and booted mob ain't been on the old dog and bone and asked that pie loving sun of a gun to name his price! I wonder if 'Arry has had a cheeky bet on himself becoming the next England manager? I think Pearce will be in for the long run, groomed for future World Cups / Euros. But lets see how the team get on against them Dutch folk first.....

So as our two old timers get hot under the collar about the state of modern football and that foreign muck they call curry, they're left to wonder is Harry Redknapp the new Messiah or just Sam Allardyce in disguise........

Cult Hero

Next up in our cult hero series is a chap from the 90's. He won his fair share of England caps *although in fairness most of them were under Graham Taylor! Not everyone's cup of tea mind you, he often covered the most yardage on the pitch. Step forward one of Big Ron's favourite players of all time....  Mr Carlton Palmer.

The underdog

Everyone loves an underdog! Whenever a top tier club play lower league opposition in the cup the British media can't help but cover themselves in underdog hype! The magic of the cup, the thought of a battered old war horse returning from the front line! From Luton to Bournemouth if they were taking on United @ Old Trafford you can be sure the neutral fan would be right behind them, hoping they would put one over Sir Alex.

Today we saw league one outfit Stevenage hold high flying Spurs to a replay for a place in the quarter finals of the FA Cup, in fairness Stevenage were unlucky not to win. Reducing Spurs to only a handful of half edged chances. 'Arry looked like he needed a cup of tea, while the multi million pound players on the pitch looked like they would rather be having the mothers sunday roast. Chris Day in The Boro goal used to play for Spurs in the 90's, he had his own point to prove towards the club he has followed since birth, and the keeper looked comfortable with everything the Spurs attack threw @ him. With the only real test coming in the shape of a long distance Bale shot, which was calmly tipped round the post. So how do the underdogs do it time and time again?

The underdog knows they only get one chance in life, so they go out and play every game as if it's their last, filled to the brim of passion and pride a sense of believe rises within and it turns boys to men! So as long as the rich teams, players distance themselves away from the public that follow them, the longer the underdog will be everyone's cup of tea!

Half time oranges please!

We've now past the half-way point of the season and the final few months are in sight it's time to put your feet up grab a cup of tea and flick through the TV Guide..... You must be joking!

What a season it's been so far, FAB has left the England hot-seat, We've had respect campaigns fall by the wayside, man hugs and handbags replacing handshakes and a season wouldn't be complete with out a bit of John Terry controversy!  We've already seen Man United get pounded 6-1 @ home, Arsenal smashed 8-1, Liverpool conceding 4 in a game for the first time in a long time, and not forgetting both Spurs & Chelsea conceding 5 @ home! With the new boys punching above their weight, we could see a few of the 'bigger boys' fighting for their lives come May....

With the knock out stages of the Champions League set to return this week, we saw earlier on in the season how both Manchester teams crashed out of the competition, leaving London the only UK city represented in Europe's top tier... Pie and Mash Mate!

United's young keeper needs to adapt to his new surroundings, There's no doubt the lad is a fantastic shot stopper but his concentration @ time needs to improve. With the impressive Lindegaard injured, De gea needs to step up to the plate, and in fairness to the lad a last ditch save yesterday made sure United got all three points against Liverpool! Since mid September United haven't really hit the heights in terms of performances, Rooney has been their most impressive player this season, braces against Chelsea and Liverpool over the last few games as helped them keep up pace with the noisy neighbours. The re-introduction of Paul Scholes was a masterstroke by Sir Alex and it could prove vital in their hunt to win another Premiership title!

For the blue side of Manchester, it's as you are. Scoring for fun, Mancini's men have stuck two fingers up at the critics & have let the ball do the talking, Silva has been golden playing in a free role, while the signing of Aguero has all but minimised the impacted  that the Tevez saga could of caused! With That English spine running through the core of the team, It will be in England's best interest that the likes of Hart, Barry & Milner are on top form heading into the summers tournament.

Sitting pretty in 3rd, and who would of thought this @ the start of the season, lie 'Arry's Spurs. Playing the most attractive football in the league since 'The Invincibles' of Arsenal's 2003-2004 team! The likes of  Bale, Walker & Parker have been different gravy! Could they pull a shocker off come May?

just below the current top 3, sit the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal & Newcastle.... and not forgetting Liverpool. Between them they have notched up some cracking results, individually they've lacked the consistency that is needed. So could we be looking @ a whole new 'top four' come the end of the season.

As we head down the league, the comfort of Mid-table is what so many teams are looking for. Norwich, Stoke, Everton and Swansea all look like they have done enough to be in the division next season, although Stoke have had a bit of a stop start season, dropping points to the so-called lesser teams, while taking points of the bigger boys! Crouch started strong but has struggled to find the net in recent weeks, Stats wise Wigan are the only team in the top flight to score less goals than Stoke this season! With a goal difference of -14 at times their defending has been of a sunday league standard as for the likes of Upson & Woodgate the pair of them look miles away from the international class they once possessed.
Another club that hasn't really got going this season is Fulham, hammering the likes of Arsenal, Newcastle & QPR at the Cottage they have then gone on to drop points against the lower teams, (Blackburn and WBA spring to mind) and in all truth they have also struggled to score on a regular basis with 11 of their 31 goals coming in two games. Jol's choice to let want away striker Zamora leave to join QPR seems to have brought the rest of the players closer together for the remainder of the season!

That brings us to the bottom of the league, and boy is it a lonely place! QPR have gone from being safe a few months back to fighting for their lives! Can Mark Hughes keep the Hoops up and can he last longer than a season with this London team? Wolves have yet again found themselves  hovering above the danger zone. Steve kean's Blackburn have finally got back to winning ways, although they did get a spanking away @ Arsenal last week! and it's not the first time they have shipped a cricket score their either! with games coming up all against the teams in & around them, Can Rovers pull away from trouble? As for Bolton & Wigan......It's gonna be a nervous end to the season, although Wigan's 2-1 away win @ the Reebok has kept the great escape alive..... And who can forget after all this we've got The Euros to look forward to!

F.A.B - What next for England

What a difference 24 hours can make, two football managers were due possibly life changing decisions. One not of their own choosing the other had his fate in his own hands.

Capello has gone and Redknapp's still with us.
Capello went on principal, The FA had stripped John Terry of the England captaincy without Fab's say so, the Italian believed that the Chelsea man should still be allowed to lead his country until a court of law found him guilty. For me - and with the Euros just around the corner it seemed a strange decision for Fab, he felt that his authority had been undermined, but with his own departure due after the tournament was his mind still on he job? Better to leave now with his integrity intact perhaps as opposed to bowing out in defeat?
Don Fab had his fair share of lovers & haters, if fact there was a bigger outcry when he was appointed as England coach than the time that Eriksson came along. He was & always will be a legend @ club level, but there was a certain arrogance that us English just didn't abide with - learning the language would have helped for a start!
But like the majority of England managers he had no problem getting us to tournaments it was the performance while we were there that was the problem. Egos amongst footballers are bound to be a problem and maybe having a "Johnny Foreigner" telling the lads how to play the English game didn't go down too well......

The most successful English manager of the modern game (that'll be one FA Cup) Harry Redknapp walked out of Southwark Crown Court a free man yesterday and things were looking rosy!
The case that had been five years in the making had ended, the Spurs' manager could once again concentrate on football matters and his clubs assault on the top two in the Premiership.
But now Harry would find himself on the back pages for all the right reasons again, he has long been mooted by many as the next England manager - only maybe not just yet.

Not since the days of Cloughie has one manager been the outstanding choice for the England job, but as they say 'be careful what you wish for'. Harry is England's most successful manager of recent times, but that doesn't count for much and in fact it could be down to the FA themselves for letting so many foreign managers take over @ Premiership clubs for making it so.
The major plus point for Redknapp is his renowned man mangement skills, he is English and he knows the players and they'll listen to him. Maybe a minus point could be his handling of the media, he loves a quote, has a column in The Sun (which would have to go) and he says what he likes - having said that though maybe he'll kerb this side of his character if it means getting his dream job?

I feel it's inevitable that he will take over, possibly after Euro 2012. A caretaker will be installed, a transitional squad will perform adequately in Poland and the Ukraine after which Harry can get down to the business of getting the country to Brazil in 2014.

It's a win win situation for the FA, bring in the people's choice - Win, lose or draw - well you wanted him we're just bowing to public opinion, they'd be mad not to right - and another bonus? No transfers for 'arry to get his hands on!