England were booed off the pitch at half time and back on again after a goal less first half. The embarrassment was spared when Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard opened the scoring ten minutes into the second half, from the edge of the Andorran box.

It took Gerrard and England another twenty minutes to add a second goal in the ill tempered contest. The highlight of the game came with the introduction of Preston North End striker David Nugent with ten minutes left. The Coca-Cola Championship striker wasn’t long embarrassing his premiership counterparts when he scrambled the ball across the line to score on his debut.

Although the result was the one that the fans sought, the performance to achieve it was far from satisfactory. There are many questions left unanswered, least of all the reasons for Frank Lampard’s conspicuous absence and the inability of the forwards to score exploit the poor defending of the Minnows.

In the longest four days in his football career Steve McClaren has had to deny rumours of a rift in the camp with players and backroom staff. Explain his being summonsed to Soho Square to explain the result and performance against Israel at the weekend.

He has also received the dreaded backing of the players with captain John Terry telling the press that he believes that McClaren is the man for the job. McClaren knows that he needs his team to provide a convincing win over footballing minnows Andorra in Barcelona, if he is to remain at the helm of English football.

Ireland captain Robbie Keane will miss today’s game against Slovakia following his yellow card against Wales on Saturday. Keane’s absence means that Damian Duff will probably be captain for Ireland’s second game at Croke Park.

Manager Steve Staunton will be looking for another haul of three points as he tries desperately to win over the Irish fans and media. Some pundits in the media believe that he is doomed, even if he manages to qualify for the finals next year.

Steve McClaren’s star studded England side were held to a goal less draw in the Euro 2008 qualifier against Israel and the travelling England support voiced their discontent, singing ‘what a load of rubbish’ toward the end of the dismal performance.

There has been much debate as to the best possible England side and what might be possible if Michael Owen was available and scoring goals. However the fact remains, England have some of the games greatest talents at their disposal and Steve McClaren fails to get the best out of them. There is a massive disparity between the players club form and that when they play for England.

On paper England should easily be able to over come opposition like Israel, both in terms of technical ability and in good old British passion. Sides like Scotland and Northern Ireland seem to generate results against all kinds of opposition even though they don’t have the greatest players in the world. Each player knows their job and they want to play well and win, International football is their shop window. Nearly all the England players have the shop window of European football in which to advertise themselves.

There are many pundits making excuses that the England side do not get enough time to prepare and ‘gel’. But there is no excuse, the players are all professional and they all play similar systems (4-4-2) and should know their job. The bulk of the team have been involved in the England setup for years. They need to stand up and be counted if England are to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland next year.

The head quarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association will host its first international soccer match when the Republic of Ireland play Wales in a Euro 2008 qualifier. The amateur association had banned foreign sports from being played on its pitches around the country, however the ban was recently lifted after much lobbying when it was decided to redevelop Lansdowne Road which was home to both Irish Football and Rugby.

Croke Park dwarfs Lansdowne Road in capacity with over 82,000 compared with just under 50,000 in the old stadium. It is used to holding massive events the Special Olympics World Summer Games ceremonies were held there on their first venture outside the USA. There have been concerts by Robbie Williams and U2, it venue was even host to a Muhammad Ali fight.

A fight will be what is required of the players if they are to begin their ascent of the group table in the hope of qualifying for next years finals. Wales have little hope of qualifying and with the clubs putting pressure on manager John Toshack to rest their players he is not being helped. However the clubs and press know that he is too stubborn to do as he is told and will be sure to play his best eleven.

Staunton has mentioned how proud the players will be when they walk out on Saturday. Although Ireland’s form in the qualifying campaign so far has not invoked much pride, in fact it has made many question Staunton’s pedigree for such a high office. Like his England counterpart he knows that the next two games are must win.

Chelsea and England captain John Terry is rallying the troops in preparation for the crucial Euro 2008 qualifying games against Israel and Andorra. England are third in group E and are only ahead of Saturdays opponents Israel on goal difference.

Terry told SkySports News “There is a lot on the game, everyone knows we need to win the game” if only to give manager Steve McClaren a stay of execution, that will bring his tenure to an end should England fail to qualify for a major finals for the first time since the World Cup in the USA in1994.

England players are not just playing to save their manager, they must also put in a performance to win back the fans after a disappointing World Cup in Germany and some poor performances recently. Knowing this Terry said “The fans have witnessed that and to watch that has been heartbreaking so we owe them, we owe ourselves, and we owe everyone in England a good performance.” If the England players owe the fans then why not refund those who paid to witness the poor performances? Give back to those who follow and cheer them through thick and thin, and be more accountable to those who have put them high on their pedestal.

Looking For the England Squad against Israel & Russia?

Steve McClaren has announced his squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifying group games against Israel and Andorra. There are a host of usual suspects, McClaren has chosen to stick with a similar squad to the one that faced Spain in the friendly last month. There is one notable inclusion in the squad, David Nugent.

The Preston striker has been promoted to the senior squad from the under-21’s following the injury to Darren Bent. Nugent faces stiff competition if he is to make the starting line up and Steve McClaren needs goals if he is to get the six points that England’s qualifying campaign so desperately needs.

There will again be much debate about the midfield, especially now there is a fit again Owen Hargreaves available for selection. On suitability of position the four would be Downing, Hargreaves, Lampard and Lennon. However the England manager will probably opt for Lennon, Carrick, Lampard, Gerrard, playing the Liverpool captain out in his less favoured right-sided role.

The front partnership could provide similar problems as England will be without a target man with Crouch injured, McClaren will probably pick either Defoe or Johnson to partner Wayne Rooney. Opting to keep Nugent on the bench for a second half appearance.

The full squad is:

Goalkeepers
Paul Robinson, Ben Foster, Scott Carson

Defenders
Gareth Barry, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Jonathan Woodgate, Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards, Ashley Cole, Phil Neville

Midfielders
Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Aaron Lennon, Stewart Downing, Owen Hargreaves, Kieron Dyer, Scott Parker

Forwards
Jermain Defoe, Andrew Johnson, Wayne Rooney, David Nugent

After the replays decided the last two semi finalists would be Chelsea and Manchester United. The Football Association have decided that the FA Cup semi-finals this year will be played at Old Trafford and Villa Park.

The first of the two games will be the fixture between Manchester United and Watford on Saturday 14th April with a kick-off time of 17:30 It will be played at Villa Park and the game will be shown live on the BBC.

The second game will be played at Old Trafford between Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers on Sunday 15th April with a kick-off time of 16:00 with the game being broadcast live on Sky Sports.

The dates of the cup semi-finals clash with the fixture between Manchester United and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as they were due to play that possible Premiership decider on the 15th of April. They game has yet to be re-arranged and could be the last game of the season.

The pitch invasion that marred the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea will no doubt cause the Football Association to conduct an inquest which will probably result in a huge fine for Spurs.

The incident occurred when the Chelsea players approached the Park Lane end of the ground following their victory in the FA Cup quarter final. Instead of the players heading into the middle of the visiting support John Terry, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard all headed to the side closest to the Spurs fans. The former made gestures toward the Tottenham Supporters inciting two of them to invade the pitch.

One made it all the way to the players heading back to the tunnel and he appeared to attack Frank Lampard and then Drogba. Another two joined them one Chelsea and one Tottenham, these fans will now face life bans from their respective clubs grounds and probably a football banning order when they appear in court later this week. A tough sentence, for some overly excited fans who would probably learn a lot more from community work or helping their football club.

When the situations were reversed and a player went in to the stands, Eric Cantona Kung-Fu kicked a supporter as he left the pitch at Selhurst Park in 1995. He was given 120 hours community service and fined £20,000 and banned from football for only nine months. Frank Lampard’s assailant did not have the same impact as Cantona yet the punishment he and the other two pitch invaders face is far in excess of that dished out Cantona.

The punishment should be severe, it should fit the crime but most importantly it should show the perpetrator the error of their ways. Banning them from football for a few years or from their home ground will not stop them. Like a junkie looking for a fix they will find a way to get tickets to away games or go to lower league football. Maybe they should be given a court order to work as a steward in the ground to help appreciate the efforts involved in crowd safety. Perhaps they should be made to help coach youngsters, or talk to them about how to behave when attending a football match.

The cold Monday night at White Hart Lane was a far cry from the sunny Sunday at Stamford Bridge eight days previous. As the game kicked off the sizzling Spurs performance of the first game was soon a distant memory.

During a goalless first half both sides seemed to cancel each other out. The key players on either side were not allowed the same room as they had in the first encounter.

After the break Tottenham looked most likely to score, but the hard work and endeavour of Andriy Shevchenko paid off; he silenced the Spurs fans chants of “What a waste of money” when he opened the scoring. His venomous strike from the edge of the area, came after a mazy run up the right flank.

Another player who has lost his way since joining Chelsea Shaun Wright Phillips, increased the visitors lead six minutes later. Didier Drogba chested the ball into the path of Wright-Phillips, his volley went across Robinsons goals and into the back of the net.

Spurs continued to push to get back into the game bringing on Jermain Defoe and using Dawson as a target man upfront. The constant pressure forced Chelsea in to making a number of rash challenges in their box. They appeared to have got away with them until Carvalho brought down Berbatov and the referee pointed to the spot. Captain Robbie Keane took the ball and kept his composure as the Chelsea players led by captain John Terry made their feelings known to the referee.

Spurs tried and failed to find a second and Chelsea will play Blackburn Rovers in the Semi Final.