Tottenham defender Michael Dawson has admitted he was devastated when Fabio Capello confirmed on Tuesday that he would not be part of England's 23-man squad at the World Cup finals in South Africa.
The 26-year-old former Nottingham Forest star was one of seven players to be axed from the initial 30-man squad by Capello after failing to feature in the recent warm-up matches against Mexico and Japan.
Dawson, who has still to play for the senior England team, said:"It was a great honour for me to be involved in the 30-man squad. To end the season and get the call to be involved was fantastic and a chance to go to the World Cup was a dream.
"Unfortunately the dream was cut on Tuesday when I got a call. It was devastating to get that call, but seven people had to get it and unfortunately I was one of them.
"I was told in a phone call from Mr Capello. He just phoned and said 'I'm sorry, but you haven't made the plane,' but I'm in his thoughts for the Euros. It was a quick call. I was devastated.
"But, without a shadow of a doubt, it has made me more determined to win my first cap. I've always been determined. I was in quite a few squads under Steve McClaren but didn't get a cap then.
"In the two-and-a-half or three years I haven't been in the squad I've always dreamed of playing for England. The dreams have never stopped and they're still there now.
"I was gutted not to get a chance to play in the two games or get a run-out in either of them, that was a big disappointment for me.
"When Sunday night came, I thought it wasn't looking too promising for the World Cup. You never give up hope, but I hadn't played a minute in either of the games.
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"I had thought Mr Capello would want to have a look at me, but the manager makes his decision and you have to respect it. I was devastated not to get any time on the field.
"Everyone was working their socks off in training to try and make sure they made it, but he could only take 23 and some people had to miss out."
Dawson, who has enjoyed his most consistent season in a Spurs shirt since moving to White Hart Lane from Forest in 2005, has made more than 200 appearances for the north London outfit.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
The last few days has been tough for any Leeds fan, we had the news that the takeover had collapsed which sparked mass panic, anger and worry.
That was quickly followed by a club statement suggesting the takeover wasn’t off at all, but that the buyers exclusivity period was now over. In other words ‘Leeds are still for sale, but it’s now a free for all’
Unfortunately, by the time the fans had chance to digest the information some had already turned on the supporters trust, some still believed it was all made up by Bates’ to sell season tickets, but worryingly, fans started turning on each other.
As the thought of another season with Ken Bates in charge started to sink in, some fans made the decision to boycott Elland Road until his regime was over, stating that they could support the club without supporting Bates. This then sparked an angry reaction from the match attending fans, who claimed that any real fan wouldn’t boycott games at any cost.
Cue a ‘best fan’ contest, with both sides of the argument being expressed profusely on forums and twitter without any sign of reason or a middle ground, for a team with united in it’s name, we couldn’t be less so.
What fans need to realise, and realise quickly, is that there is no wrong or right way to handle this. If somebody wants to boycott games in a personal protest to Ken Bates then that doesn’t mean they support the club any less, they still cheer every goal and kick every ball, they just don’t want to put any money into the club while Bates is around.
At the same time, we mustn’t let ourselves believe that protesting about Bates at games always has a negative effect on the players, the players are professionals who, considering the level they play at, should be more than able to handle a few chants about our owner. This was backed up at the weekend as we cruised to a 4-0 win over Shrewsbury with ‘Bates out’ chants ringing out.
Now is the time for fans to stick together, we don’t have to agree to do the same things, but we have to understand that whatever action somebody takes is because of a love of the club. We cant start dividing a week before the season starts, especially considering there is a chance the takeover will still take place, we need to be united from the start as we all want the same thing, Bates out, and a return to the Premier League.
If we needed any more inspiration to put down our weapons it must surely be the thought of Ken Bates laughing away at the sight of us minions and morons turning on each other. Make no mistake, a disjointed fan base would please Bates no-end.
In the midst of all this, the takeover looks to be back on track, with reports claiming that talks over the weekend were ‘very positive’ and the LUST chairman Gary Cooper confirming on WACCOE that the buyers representative ‘”could see no other outcome’’. Considering the league season starts this weekend, it could not be better timed.
On the topic of LUST, fans need to remember their purpose. They are a supporters trust that have been the voice of the fans throughout, they are as frustrated as us at not being able to tell us more information than they have, but the criticism they are starting to receive is unfair. On the day that they confirmed the takeovers collapse they were only relaying information from the buyers, as at that point in the day, the deal was dead in the water. After LUSTs statement, there were frantic discussions to try and rescue the deal, this is where we appear to be at today.
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So at least for now, we need to keep the faith and be united again. Leeds are renowned for having one of the best fan bases in the world, but we can only justify being called that if we stick together through the ups and downs, at least until the word stops going round.
Arsenal target Marvin Martin has signed a new deal at French side Sochaux but a release clause could see him move to the Emirates Stadium next summer, the Metro reports.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger had tracked the highly-rated playmaker throughout the summer as he sought to boost his midfield in the wake of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri’s impending departures.
It’s thought Wenger tried to sign the 23-year-old on deadline day only for his approach to be rebuffed by the French club – leading to the loan signing of Yossi Benayoun from Chelsea.
Martin has now signed a new and improved deal at the Ligue 1 club until 2015 but doesn’t envisage fulfilling seeing out the full length of his contract.
He has revealed that an agreement has been struck with the Sochaux board which will allow him to leave next summer if a club like Arsenal comes in.
Speaking to French newspaper L’Equipe he said: “We had a good talk and we found an agreement.”
“The officials made a promise. Indeed, an agreement to let me leave. I will remain at Sochaux until the end to the season.”
The Gunners could now wait and move for the highly rated midfielder, who made his debut for the French national side in June and now has five caps to his name, next summer as opposed to during the January transfer window.
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Juventus striker Alessandro Matri said it was a ‘dream’ to score the winning goal in his side’s 1-0 victory over Inter Milan on Sunday.
The 26-year-old struck for the third time since signing with Juve in January and put a serious dent in Inter’s hopes of retaining the Serie A title.
Juventus themselves are 11 points adrift of league-leaders AC Milan, but Matri said he would do everything possible to help his new club continue their title push.
“It’s one of the most important goals of my career,” Matri said. “The match against Inter was one of those beautiful ones that I used to watch at home and dream about playing in.”
“I dedicate it to my family who have always supported me. I didn’t expect to start my Juventus career this way, but I certainly hoped for it because I always believed in my abilities and the understanding I have with Luca Toni is working.”
“You need to work double for a big club and I will do that every day.”
Juventus manager Luigi Delneri thought his team’s 1-0 win against Inter in Serie A was well deserved, refuting suggestions from Inter boss Leonardo that a draw would have been a fairer result.
“We should always be honest and direct in football and I’m always direct and honest and I have to say that Juventus really deserved to win today and we could have scored more goals,” Delneri said.
“My team didn’t give Inter many opportunities. I don’t know how Leonardo could have said that we could have drawn.”
“Of course there it could have been a draw since their team is made up of many skilled players.”
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Delneri was also pleased with new signing Andrea Barzagli from Wolfsburg, saying the midfielder gives Juventus greater balance in the centre of the park.
“(Andrea) Barzagli has the skills to play as centre. I think he has improved a great deal thanks to the experience he got in Germany. Now he is working very well and I’m happy for him,” Delneri said.
“Thanks to his presence, we have managed to move (Giorgio) Chiellini on the left, where we have had difficulties in the past and Giorgio is able to adapt very well in this role as if he has always played in that role.”
As I stood inside the Tesco in Dorchester, paying for the energy drink that I hoped would pull me out of the bewilderment that came with just watching Plymouth Argyle lose 5-0 in a pre-season friendly to Yeovil Town, I was tapped on the back. I turned around to see a middle-aged man dressed in Yeovil colours, he had not come to gloat though.
Instead he said “I reckon your (Argyle) mid-table at best this season mate”. I agreed with him before he continued to say “It’s funny, I was watching BBC South West the other day and your chairman was promising a big wage budget for you to spend, but it doesn’t look like you are using it!”.
And with that the man left, having just unknowingly echoed the feelings of many an Argyle fan.
There are now only 25 days until the 2012/13 season kicks off, and with each day that passes the Green Army are becoming increasingly worried. The signings we have made so far in Paris Cowan-Hall, Jamie Lowry and Rene Gilmartin point to little more than a season of mid-table obscurity, which would be fine with large parts of our fan base after the last few seasons. But why promise such things as ‘a competitive budget’ and ‘going for promotion’ when so far our actions in the transfer market have not mirrored what is being said by the Chairman? It is becoming increasingly frustrating to believe some of the statements coming out of the club.
What really worries me though is that we might actually have a weaker squad now than the one that we ended the 2011/12 season with. The loanees we had, Ashley Hemmings, Juvhel Tsoumou, Alex MacDonald and Steven Fletcher will not be returning to the club whilst captain Simon Walton was released by mutual consent to move back up to his native North of England to sign for Hartlepool. Controversy was never far from Walton in his time with Argyle and some fans will be glad to see the back of him, but he was a key cog in our survival in the football league last season, finishing as top goalscorer – a statistic which includes some dramatic last minute penalties to win us a couple of vital games.
The last thing that Argyle fans want in the coming season is another relegation battle, but with the performance against Yeovil being so poor and the decent striker that our squad is crying out for still not with us, some are already beginning to dread the approaching campaign. It is not as if Carl Fletcher is not trying though, he revealed a few weeks ago he had missed out on transfer targets as they have gone to clubs higher up the football pyramid who could offer bigger wages to the players in question.
Despite the dismal display against Yeovil I still think we are going to be a mid-table team. The Glovers already had two pre-season games under their belt before they faced us, whilst it was our first outing of the summer. They are of course also a division higher than us. Going on that showing they will not be involved in the League One relegation battle this season, something which they have seemed to taken part in every season now for what seems like forever.
If we want to lift ourselves away from mid-table and towards the play-offs this season then we are in dire need of a striker or two, and a winger. Our current main strikers, Warren Feeney and Nick Chadwick, work hard but won’t score more than 15 between them in a season. We will have to wait and see if Paris Cowan-Hall will find his feet at this level whilst young Matt Lecointe is unlikely to start more than a quarter of our games unless he becomes the next Nick Powell.
It’s just a shame that James Brent has been making noises about promotion because it looks unlikely. Had he said nothing about it then the majority of Argyle fans would be happy heading into a blissful, relaxing season of mid-table ‘mediocrity’. As it is there are parts of the fanbase that are, to put it politely, far from pleased.
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Domestic cup competitions are on somewhat of a slide in English football. The FA Cup may still profit from the tradition that surrounds the competition but what about the often disregarded League Cup?
Last week QPR manager Neil Warnock admitted he was pleased that his side were out of the Carling Cup after an embarrassing 2-0 home defeat to lower league Rochdale. But where has the passion gone from Warnock or many other managers who see the League Cup as a distraction rather than a profitable competition? Football clubs should start showing more regard to a cup that could see them play in a final at Wembley and have the chance of European football.
Warnock was quoted as saying after the defeat,
“I don’t think people care about the competition. I’m not disappointed to be out. The competition is not a priority for us.”
But he was not the only Premier League manager to suffer a similar fate as both Swansea and Norwich also exited the competition early, with Norwich boss Paul Lambert making 11 changes from his previous Premier League game. To be fair to managers like Warnock, I can see the angle he is coming from. The League Cup is not held in a high regard within England generally and it must be hard to get excited about a mid-week clash against lower league teams. Staying in the Premier League is obviously vitally important to the newly promoted sides and another fixture on the calendar does risk having an effect on their season. Warnock also said that the cup needs to be revamped, a point on which I agree with the QPR manager. Its schedule has become rather stale and gets lost amongst a busier calendar and so its does need to be revamped to win back at least some of its lost appeal.
But by playing weakened teams, or in Warnock’s case disregarding the competition, it does a disservice to not only his players (many who would probably relish a possible trip to Wembley or a chance of European football) but the fans as well. Loyal supporters take every opportunity possible to see their team play, which is made especially hard by increasing match day prices. QPR fans cannot have enjoyed paying for a ticket to see their side lose to a lower league team. Fans deserve a better experience and like the players, many wouldn’t forget a possible cup final or even a chance to take on one of the Premier League big boys again in an earlier stage of the competition. Obviously there is every chance that your team may not even reach the final but the opportunity for smaller Premier League teams is there to win silverware.
Despite the decreasing popularity that the Carling Cup has suffered from in recent years, last year’s final showed that the cup has a big part to play in the English football season. Birmingham City and Arsenal met at Wembley in February to battle it out with underdogs Birmingham snatching victory in the most dramatic of circumstances with a late winner. Birmingham were jubilant at winning what should still be called a major trophy whilst Arsenal were distraught at missing the chance to finally add a piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet after so many years. On the day both teams and their fans desperately wanted to win in what was a fantastic showpiece event. But the effect it had on both their seasons after the final could be used as an example to justify Warnock’s point, no one would have expected both Birmingham Arsenal’s seasons to end in such disappointment.
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Neil Warnock’s comments could be seen as the QPR manager simply saying what many managers and fans are thinking as they watch their team battle on a cold mid-week night for a cup held in little regard anymore. But smaller teams, from the Premier League down through the lower leagues should not underestimate the League Cup as it is one of the few chances many of these teams will ever get to win a piece of silverware.
Do you think clubs should make more of an effort in the League Cup? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5
Scottish Premier League giants Rangers have confirmed the loan signing of Blackburn’s El Hadji Diouf until the end of the season.
The Senegalese international was delighted with his deal and explained how his experiences playing against Rangers in Australia made the decision an easy one.
“I am very happy to join one of the biggest clubs in the world. This club has a great history. It will be great to wear the shirt and I will do my best,” Diouf told the club’s official website.
“It’s funny because I played against Rangers in the summer in Australia with Blackburn and I was talking about that with my friend Chris Samba and I know it’s a massive thing for me. Rangers are known throughout the world and I want to be a legend here.”
“I was talking with Walter Smith about how many Rangers fans went to watch Rangers in Australia. It just shows the power of the club. I am so excited about this move.”
Diouf says he cannot wait to represent Rangers in Sunday’s Old Firm derby against Celtic, despite the fact he is likely to be jeered by Celtic fans after spitting on one while he was playing for Liverpool in 2003.
“I know all about the big rivalry between the two clubs. I have seen many Rangers-Celtic games because a few of my friends have played for Rangers like Amdy Faye, Jean-Alain Boumsong and Fabrice Fernandes,” he said.
“Every one of them always said great things about the club in the past and I always remembered.”
A managerial change at Blackburn, which saw Sam Allardyce replaced by Steve Kean, meant Diouf was on the outer at Ewood Park and he spoke about how he would love to make his temporary switch to Glasgow permanent.
“I was doing well at Blackburn under Sam Allardyce and I think I was playing the best football of my Rovers career but then he left and things changed.”
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“I am a loyal guy and I liked Sam and things were not working for me so when this chance came up I grabbed it. I know this is only a loan move but I would love to make it permanent. I need a change and this is great for me.”
Diouf’s signing was not the only work Rangers did on a busy transfer deadline day, with the club also securing the services of Arsenal’s Kyle Bartley on loan, just days after they signed striker David Healy on a free transfer.
There were also two departures on deadline day, with striker James Beattie leaving on loan to Premier League outfit Blackpool while fellow forward Andrius Velicka was released.
While it was in the September of 2008 that Sheikh Mansour took control of Manchester City Football Club, the 2008-09 campaign for the blues wasn’t the best on the pitch. In fact, it ended with the team outside all of the European places and had a Christmas Day in the relegation zone wedged into the middle of it. That was the last time that City met United just twice over the course of a season; every year since then, there has been more than the minimum two Manchester derbies.
Those two derbies of 2008-09 were bleak for City: Two defeats, no goals and barely a shot in either. There was so much between the two sides, you’d never have believed the gap had looked smaller the year earlier – when Sven’s side had twice beaten their local rivals. Fast forward to a new manager and throw in a few new players and progress had stalled somewhat.
But that’s when City got serious. In a manner, the club declared war on the team from across town. With a summer of additions – including the high profile signing of Carlos Tevez – the blues had suddenly gone from a team with no European football to one that was pushing to finish fourth in the Premier League. That transfer saga was the start of where the bad blood began to get worse between the two Manchester clubs. Previously, City’s mid-table woes and relegation battles had mattered little to United’s title challenges and European nights, and vice-versa. The sides met twice a year and battled it out, with the bragging rights at stake.
But that Tevez switch signalled the start of City’s rise; the now infamous poster being a cheap dig that got United’s back up and had those in charge of the reds foaming at the mouths. They were rattled. It added extra feeling to that first meeting between the two sides and it felt, for the first time in a long time, that City were somewhere near to pushing United all the way. It was the first step in the blues’ rise; they went in off the back of four wins. Of course, we all know how it ended: Michael Owen stole the points with a goal in added time to added time.
We might not have realised it at the time, but that game marked the beginning of a new era of Manchester derbies. This was no longer the haves against the have nots; this was the beginning of a fight for power. City were trying to wrestle it from United and it was no longer simply bragging rights at stake. This was league position and future success for City. For United, it was a battle to stay in poll position and to avoid being eclipsed by their nearest rivals.
Before that match in 2009-10, Sir Alex Ferguson uttered his famous “not in my lifetime” quote – in answer to the question of whether City would go into a derby match as favourites. Not only has he since been proven wrong on that front, as the blues have now gone into a derby with shorter odds than United, but he has himself passed comment on it, claiming the blues were where the money should be placed for last season’s FA Cup third round tie.
As much as us City fans don’t want it to be true, the fact of the matter is United aren’t going to just go away. They’ve had dominance over England for nigh on twenty years and, as is the case with any sort of evil, undemocratic Empire, the idea of giving up power isn’t one that is ever jumped at. The inconvenience of the matter is that, to become top dogs in this country, City are going to have to dismantle what United have built brick by brick. Mario Balotelli almost hit the nail on the head; he said ‘Why always me?’, when he should have asked ‘Why always them?’
Since the takeover and since City have been climbing the table in their quest for success, they have had to overcome United at every significant point. The coincidental and slightly queer fact that the reds have been constantly standing in the blues’ way for every little achievement is quite symbolic of the fight as a whole. They have what we want and we have to forcefully take it from them. To be a success, we have to stop them from stopping us.
Back in 2009-10, City had their best chance yet of picking up silverware and ending the barren spell, having just smashed three past Arsenal’s kids and made it to the semi-finals of the League Cup. Leaving the ground, fans were desperately trying to find out who the club had drawn. And then the news broke: Manchester United. To make matters worse, it was the most difficult draw, being the home leg first and the away leg second.
The reds, having played a weakened side all the way up to that point, signalled their intent to the competition and towards City. One could be forgiven for thinking United were more concerned from stopping the blues winning the cup than winning it themselves; the policy of playing fringe players stopped immediately when it became obvious City were serious about lifting the trophy that so many teams shun. United won that battle, but only just.
The progress for City took another dent later that season. The push for a Champions League place over Tottenham, Aston Villa and Liverpool appeared to be swinging into the blues’ favour, until one Manchester United rocked up at the City of Manchester Stadium. A last minute goal again won the game for the visitors, and that sparked a run of form that saw City lose out to Spurs in a penultimate match ‘playoff’. While City had clearly improved, they were still some way behind United.
Then came 2010-11. City managed to earn one more point in the Manchester derbies than the campaign previous, but that was a somewhat soul-destroying and wholly forgettable 0-0 draw at Eastlands. The undoubted highlight of which being the final whistle, when fans could finally go home and wonder how better they could have spent that ninety minutes. In fact, it’s the fixture in February that is more telling – City turned up at Old Trafford and were marginally the better side, a marked improvement on the year before. They only lost that game due to a freak, out-of-this-world, unbelievably good goal, that, on another day, would have landed somewhere on the M60.
But that wasn’t the half of it. With City looking to end a trophy drought of over three decades, it looked like the FA Cup was going well. The big sides were dropping out and the blues had been given favourable draws against lower league opposition and, on the one occasion they drew a Premier League side, it was at home. But then, just before the quarter final with Reading, the balls were pulled out of that strange bowl thing on ITV and, if they got through, City would be paired up with United. At Wembley. The reds were, once again, blocking the path of City’s progress.
This time, City came out on top – and deservedly so. Rooney was missing, as was Tevez, and both sides went toe-to-toe for the honour of being an FA Cup finalist. The banner at Old Trafford proudly displayed the years since the blues had won a major trophy (not that they care, obviously); it wasn’t officially sanctioned by the club, but clearly endorsed, as, had they wanted it gone, it could quite easily have been removed. Roberto Mancini had previously failed on his first attempt to fulfil his promise of tearing it down.
To do it, he was going to have to get the better of United. First it was the League Cup. And then the FA Cup. As we know now, he kept that promise. He went on to complete the cup run by seeing off Stoke in the final and lifting the trophy that May.
The next time the two sides would meet was the Community Shield: The opening game of the season; the curtain raiser. And, that August, nobody would have predicted just how significant the two teams that went head-to-head that match would be. It’s telling now that the showpiece for the English Premier League would be contested by the two teams vying to win it nine months on. City threw away a two-goal lead to lose that game and, from that point on, proceeded to smash records in the opening months of the season, as team after team were dispatched en route to October and a trip to Old Trafford.
A United win would see them leapfrog the blues into top spot. A City win would see them open up a five point gap at the table’s summit. It would turn out to be the blues’ biggest step yet in taking a wrecking ball to Sir Alex Palpatine’s Empire. Six huge hits were sustained that day and City inflicted United’s largest ever Premier League defeat at Old Trafford. Fans that had been arguing that the gap between the two clubs was getting shorter began to argue that it was actually getting wider: That blue had become more dominant than red.
Of course, that was too premature.
The FA Cup was next: The third round draw threw these teams together once again. But for an unjust red card, it could have been a different story; but a club mustn’t lament its bad luck. United made it into the pot for the fourth round, though City gave them a scare, with one man fewer for eighty of the ninety minutes and from three goals behind. That first cup might have gone in the trophy cabinet, but the second one after it was still not going to be an easy task.
But the season defining moment was still to come. Having spent many months of the season on the top of the league, City suddenly imploded. For a while, the blues had been five points ahead of the reds and with a better goal difference, but, with just six matches to play, it looked like they had mucked it up. After the first game in April – a defeat by a single goal at The Emirates – City trailed United by eight points. Worse, the goal difference advantage had gone too, as the blues found themselves two behind.
Once again, United appeared to have stood firm in City’s way.
But the blues hadn’t stored the wrecking ball away just yet. After the final whistle of City’s destruction of West Brom, the fans waited behind to hear confirmation that Wigan had given them a helping hand – United had lost. “Too little, too late,” was muttered by some. “You never know,” was the reply from others.
Indeed, the latter were right – City had their reprieve, in the shape of Everton. They fought back at Old Trafford to steal a point when all seemed lost, meaning City’s victory over Wolves later that Sunday afternoon left the blues three points behind. The next game was, of course, the Manchester derby. Win and City went back on top on goal difference. Draw and United would take a three point lead into the final two games. Defeat and it was all over, United would need a point to secure the league. It was do or die. All or nothing. Win or bust.
United, again, in City’s way of progress. While many of us had hoped that the title race would have been over well before this match, when the fixtures were announced it was always going to be inevitable that the final derby of the season would play a key role in the struggle for power.
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United have stood in City’s way in everything they have tried to do since the takeover. If City were to knock United into second place in this country, then they would have to do it both literally and metaphorically. In the wartime metaphor, the battles had been tight and close, and, for three years, City have been gradually gaining ground, while United had stagnated. But in the literal world, the reds had stopped the blues on several occasions in the past. Kept them at arm’s length.
But United ran scared. They came for a point. They got nothing.
United stood in City’s way for Champions League qualification and that was eventually overcome. They stood in the way of a trophy to break the duck and that was eventually overcome. They stood in the way of league progress and that was eventually overcome.
To exorcise the ghosts of the past, the torment of United’s league titles compared to the blues’ exploration of England’s lower divisions, City need a sustained period of success. They need to be raking in the trophies one by one. Year after year.
But United won’t go away. It’s symbolic that City have had to beat them to move up every rung on the ladder of firsts. The Champions League is the next big step and one that could take a while to crack.
And it wouldn’t surprise me to see United in City’s way for that, too.
David Mooney’s book, Typical City, is now available to pre-order in paperback from here – or the ebook is already available to download in the Amazon Kindle store here.
England stand little chance of lifting the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, Frank Lampard has admitted.The Three Lions have been drawn against Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova and San Marino in what has been seen as a relatively straightforward qualifying group for the tournament.
But Lampard believes that even if England make it to Brazil, the climate and quality of opposition they will face means their chances of success are minimal.
“It will be very difficult for an English team to win it over there,” Lampard told reporters as Chelsea ended their pre-season tour of the Far East in Hong Kong.
“In their own back yard, with the strongest teams in the world there, and the climate. But what a great challenge it will be for whatever team that goes over there.”
Despite his pessimism over the country’s chances, however, Lampard revealed he wants to remain part of the England set-up for as long as possible, even though he will be 36 years old by the time the next World Cup comes around.
“I take every year as it comes,” he added.
“It will be difficult, but it’s great to see young players coming through, to see the Jack Wilsheres and the Josh McEachrans getting their chances, and I’d hope to be involved for as long as possible.
“I’d certainly be happy if I was [at the 2014 World Cup], but I can’t call that one.”
If Lampard wants to remain in contention for a place in the national side he knows he will have to rediscover his best form with Chelsea this season, under new manager Andre Villas-Boas.
The Portuguese tactician’s relatively young age has led to suggestions he may have problems earning the respect of senior players at Stamford Bridge, but Lampard disagrees.
“I read that he has to gain our respect instantly, and it’s never like that at football clubs,” said the midfielder.
“It certainly isn’t for me personally, and it wouldn’t be for John Terry.
“You want to impress. I want to impress him now at the age of 33 just the same as I did when I was 22. Simple as that.
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“We are here to impress as individuals, and we want to make the group successful. We will always respect the manager, and that applies with any manager we get.”
Under Villas-Boas’ guidance, Lampard says he is optimistic about the Blues’ prospects of success this season.
“I think there is a nice freshness about the team and the squad and the players who maybe were not sure they were going to stay, or players that were on loan, or young players that have come through and are getting a sniff now,” he added.
“I think we have got a strong squad, and if the manager adds to it and it makes us stronger then we will all be happy, I certainly will be. It remains to be seen in the time to the end of the window.”
We are now heading towards the end of the January transfer window as the time left for Premier League clubs to buy and sell players becomes ever shorter. We have already seen a couple of big transfers, as collectively Manchester City and Aston Villa have shelled out over £50 million for strikers Edin Dzeko and Darren Bent respectively, but there is still sure to be plenty more transfer activity until the window slams shut at the end of the month.
Until it does there’ll be a whole host of transfer rumours as different clubs look to buy certain players and offload others. This will all come to a head on transfer deadline day as clubs scurry to do business and improve their squads for the final time in the 2010/11 Premier League campaign.
You can keep right up to date with all the transfer rumours right here…
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