BRITISH NEWS

Croatia 2-0 England
The hysteria over formations has misdirected criticism of last night’s debacle in Croatia – a defeat that leaves qualification for the European Championships in two years time far from simple. Naivety in switching to outdated wingbacks away to a team undefeated at home in competitive matches is clear. Even more so after the insipid performance a few days earlier at home to Macedonia. What was needed was a simplified approach – a clichéd back-to-basics. Keep it simple. Keep it tight. Do not throw in a new but outdated formation with enforced permutations of playing personnel and hope for the best in such an important fixture. Yet it was the not the shape of the line-up that produced defeat. It was the characterless and spineless performance of too many individuals far too readily proclaimed as world class. Rio Ferdinand was slack and lucky to stay on the pitch. John Terry has been magnificent for Chelsea but last night was shaky and at fault for the first goal. Ashley Cole seemed to think he was a left winger and Jamie Carragher – Mr Reliable for Liverpool – was too often left exposed to Croatian wing-play; simple balls played over the top and wide into the space for attackers to exploit. Gary Neville cannot and will never be able to cross like David Beckham or Stephen Gerrard and should not be asked to have to do so. Wayne Rooney is still a long way from his best and Peter Crouch received almost zero service. The three man midfield lacked penetration or drive and again Frank Lampard was off form – how many more performances like this before he warrants being dropped? But then any potential replacements are thin on the ground. Neither Michael Carrick nor Scott Parker impressed – the later unlikely to play again once Owen Hargreaves is fit and Gerrard is back from suspension. Ironically, Paul Robinson was perhaps England’s best player, producing a number of important stops to save his team mates blushes, only to find himself doing the blushing. But then if ‘keepers insist on kicking up chunks of turf whilst taking goal-kicks what did he expect?

Steve McClaren has five months until a hugely important fixture away to Israel and it would be wise to not become embroiled in debates over formations. He must discover a way of exploiting the undoubted talents of the players in his monthly charge. Of course the shape of the team is important. But it was the despairing failure to even look like creating a goal against a middle-of-the-road team, a lack of imagination and spontaneity. We crave more Joe Coles, whose verve and daring to try things are all too often criticised in this country but remain desperately needed. Successful modern football teams need pace – it is (to quote Mr Hansen) the hardest thing to defend against. Theo Walcott anyone? - Fran Wilson

All talk but no bungs
Sam Allardyce. Oh dear oh dear. Bung taking premiership manager. Or is he? Did last night's Panorama investigation actually throw up any evidence of bung taking beyond hearsay? Not really. Are the words of a couple of agents enough to find the man guilty? I doubt it. But surely his own son incriminates him beyond reproach? Did he? Craig Allardyce’s defence is that he was playing up his own importance to attract opportunities. It would appear that he was paid money as part of numerous transfers but where is the legal line between commission and bung taking drawn? And where is the direct evidence that this involved Sam Allardyce? Whilst intriguing television that has highlighted an undeniable problem in football’s dirty corridors of backhanders and nepotism, it remains to be seen whether it has actually uncovered anything of real substance. We can only hope that the BBC has more substantial evidence tucked away for the lawyers who will, as always, be the big winners in the scandal.

Perhaps more shocking was the blatant touting of 15 year old Middlesbrough youth player Nathan Porritt by Peter Harrison to various clubs including Chelsea and Liverpool. Frank Arnesen, Chelsea head of development and scouting, is seen on tape offering £150,000 over three years to entice the player down from the north-east. It is the same behaviour that saw Chelsea receive a large fine and a suspended 3-point deduction for tapping up Ashley Cole of Arsenal. And successfully entice two Leeds United academy players to sign. Why should clubs invest in young players, nurturing them through their youth systems only to see them poached by the big clubs with six-figure bribes? Something needs to be done to stop this.

One thing does seem clear from last nights programme and that is that bung taking and tapping-up are rife in the modern game. But then we already knew that. What we have now are the names of some of the agents and involved and allegations that some managers are in on it. With only Sam Allardyce’s involvement apparently corroborated by at least two different agents, none of others have been named and are unlikely to be any time soon, unless of course leaked to a red top. Last night there was a lot of talk of bung taking but little evidence of bung taking. We need more. - Fran Wilson

Macedonia 0-1 England
Another game and another goal for the irrepressible Peter Crouch; eleven goals this year alone has vaulted him to the front of the England striking queue. If anyone else had been scoring at that pace they would have been hailed as world class a long time ago. It is probably not to far wrong to suggest Peter Crouch will never be called world class whatever his achievements.

Macedonia provided a much sterner test than poor Andorra a few days before and could be justifiably disappointed to not get a draw from the game. For the majority for the first half England we reliant on when-did-he-get-back-into-the-squad Phil Neville’s long throws for their best chances, spurned by Crouch and Defoe. In the end, England’s goal came from a Frank Lampard cut-back that Crouch volleyed home via the underside of the bar.

This was not a pretty performance and brings the team back to earth after easy victories over disinterested and poor opposition (Greece and Andorra). There will be tougher trips to both Russia (under the masterful Hiddink) and Croatia (under Slaven Bilic – remember him West Ham?), who did themselves no favours by drawing 0-0 with each in their first qualifying games, as well as Israel. Incidentally, when did Israel become part of Europe? Yet, along with Kazakhstan, they find themselves trying to qualify for the European Championships and the European section for the World Cup qualifiers as well. The last time I looked at a map Kazakhstan was not in Europe.

Elsewhere, Northern Ireland surprised just about everyone by defeating Spain 3-2 thanks to a hat-trick from David Healy. Maybe that one million pound prize money isn’t looking so far off after all. In reality they will not qualify in a group that contains both Sweden and Denmark. Enjoy it while it lasts - Fran Wilson

England 5-0 Andorra
Peter Crouch continues to head both inextricably and inexplicably towards England’s all-time goal scoring charts. 10 goals in his last 10 England games is an envious record and with Jermain Defoe scoring twice against Andorra as well, Steve McClaren has created an attacking vibe to his recently inherited England squad. With the in-form Andy Johnson on the bench and Wayne Rooney (and possibly even Michael Owen) to return England have an embarrassment of riches upfront. It is all a long way from the Sven’s world cup era.

The emphasis on Saturday was on getting the ball wide against an awful team made up of part-timers and with Steven Gerrard banishing all memories of the David Beckham era with another man-of-the-match display this proved a winning tactic. Unfortunately, any result other than double figures would have be taken a given and despite scoring six goals this was a dreadful game to have to watch. Attack versus defence doesn’t do it justice. Andorra were unable to move the ball between beyond a couple of passes and failed to construct any kind of attack worth noting in the entire ninety minutes. Should they be playing at this level? In a season packed with far too many games already no they shouldn’t. The result was never in question and Andorra’s players can have taken little from the game other than the privilege of playing against Premiership starts. Is this itself enough to justify their participation? No, it is surely a matter of time before a knock-out phase is introduced for mountain-tops, tax-havens and large rocks to prove they belong in such company. The likes of the Faroe Islands (who lost 0-6 to Scotland!), Andorra, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Cyprus and San Marino shouldn’t be wasting space on the international calendar.

England travel to Macedonia on Wednesday and will look to ease into a lead in the qualification race for the European Championships in 2008. England look relatively impressive but then they did when qualifying under Sven. There are bigger tests then the Principality of Andorra to come. - Francis Wilson

Call me unpatriotic
Call me unpatriotic (or worse?) but there is something unnervingly satisfying about Cristiano Ronaldo’s performances in the face of ignorant booing. It is the finger up to those who still thinks he is to blame for England’s woeful exit from this summer’s World Cup that perhaps explains this feeling. Or am I on my own here? Either way, Ronaldo and Co. have successfully elevated Manchester United to the top of the table after two games, scoring some eight goals along the way. And hooray…Chelski have lost a game: self-proclaimed novice Gareth Southgate getting one over The Special One thanks to a last gasp winner from perennially chubby Mark Viduka. Elsewhere at the top, Sven’s toy-boy Theo Walcott has begun to show some of the ability that wooed the Swede into making The Worst Decision Ever and has now come off the bench twice to set up goals and has scored for the England U-21s as well. The boyfriend of Melanie Slade (who recently completed her A-Levels- why did that ever make the news?) may yet make the grade.

New-boys Reading showed why the cantered to the Championship title last year in an impressive show of spirit, coming back from two behind to defeat Middlesbrough 3-2. Ex-Bristolian Leroy Lita scrambling home the winning goal after an hour. Martin O’Neill showed why he is such a highly rated manager, organising Aston Villa into drawing with Arsenal at their new stadium and then masterminding (thanks to a dubious sending off) victory over Reading a few days later. American Aston Villa are witnessing another new dawn but the question remains as to whether the sleeping ‘giant’ can be prodded from its slumber. They should finish comfortably in the top half but may struggle to get into Europe.

Where I come from elbowing someone into unconsciousness is considered an offence worthy of an appearance before at least one judge. On the football pitch it is apparently worth only a yellow card. Ben Thatcher’s apologies are not enough and when something looks equally bad in both slow motion and full-speed then you know something is wrong. It was assault in no uncertain terms and there must be punishment for it. Another poor refereeing decision saw Andy Todd of Blackburn jump on Andy Johnson’s back, ride there for a couple of minutes, before hopping off to clear the ball into touch. And get away with it.

Chelsea have again been drawn against Barcelona in the Champions League, this time in the First Group Stage. More excitingly, Celtic and Manchester United with play each other home and away and I fear Scottish Football will discover once again its inferiority. The full draw is below for those who care.

Group A
Barcelona
Chelsea
Werder Bremen
Levski Sofia

Group B
Inter Milan
Bayern Munich
Sporting Lisbon
Spartak Moscow

Group C
Liverpool
PSV Eindhoven
Bordeaux
Galatasaray

Group D
Valencia
Roma
Olympiakos
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group E
Real Madrid
Lyon
Steaua Bucharest
Dynamo Kiev

Group F
Manchester United
Celtic
Benfica
FC Copenhagen

Group G
Arsenal
Porto
CSKA Moscow
Hamburg

Group H
Ac Milan
Lille
AEK Athens
Anderlecht - Francis Wilson

Premiership Transfer News
The season's barely finished but there has already been a flurry of activity in the English transfer market with Premiership clubs off-loading unwanted players to make way for fresh signings.

Liverpool's Spanish striker Fernando Morientes leads the way, having agreed terms for a move to Valencia. The 30-year-old never really settled on Merseyside and was omitted from his country's World Cup squad.

Egyptian striker Mido's loan spell at Tottenham has expired and he'll return to Roma, making way for the arrival of Bulgarian front man Dimitar Berbatov at White Hart Lane. Wigan fullback Pascal Chimbonda, a surprise inclusion in the France squad, also looks destined for a move to Spurs.

Crystal Palace striker Andy Johnson is currently hot property with Wigan, Everton and Bolton competing for his £8.5 million signature. Wigan are also chasing Chelsea's German defender Robert Huth, rated at around £5 million. Elsewhere, Manchester City have resigned veteran striker Paul Dickov on a free from Blackburn Rovers. - Paul

FA Cup Final: Liverpool 3-3 West Ham United
Liverpool have won the FA Cup for the seventh time after a classic final against West Ham at The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. A three all draw after 90 minutes brought extra time and them penalties before Liverpool finally prevailed.

After a hesitant opening twenty minutes, it was a surprisingly open game with West Ham making the most of their first half chances. Jamie Carragher diverted Scaloni's cross into his own net after 21 minutes to give the Hammers the lead.

Seven minutes later, their advantage was doubled as Dean Ashton pounced on a fumble by goalkeeper Jose Reina to poke the ball home. Liverpool then woke up and Crouch was unlucky to have a header ruled out for offside.

However, moments later, an inch perfect through ball from Gerrard was smartly converted by Djibril Cisse to give Liverpool the momentum going into the interval. The break came at the right time for West Ham as they regrouped and came out of the blocks guns blazing at the restart.

Almost immediately they broke down the left and had two good opportunities to extend their lead but Harewood and Benayoun were unable to capitalise on them. From that point on Liverpool always looked the more likely winners and Gerrard levelled the scores on 54 minutes.

However, West Ham refused to roll over and there was yet another twist when a miss-hit cross from Konchesky looped over Reina and into the net. The Hammers so nearly held on and would have done so but for one man.

The commentary team had already written Steven Gerrard off as a passenger, saying that West Ham were playing against 10 men as the England star struggled with cramp, but up he popped in the 91st minute to drive home a thunderbolt from 30 yards.

The play in extra time was reduced to walking pace as player after player succumbed to fatigue and cramp, the only notable chance coming right at the death as a West Ham free kick bounced off the stricken Harewood and was tipped into the post by Reina with Harewood too weak to turn in the rebound.

So for the second year running the final ended in penalties. Reina's saves from Zamora, Konchesky and Ferdinand gave Liverpool a 3-1 win. - Paul

Scottish FA Cup Final: Hearts 1-1 Gretna
It was a case of so near yet so far for minnows Gretna as their fairytale run in the Scottish FA Cup came to a dramatic end after more than 120 minutes of gripping football in front of a crowd of 51,232 at Hampden Park.

Gretna are the first club from the third tear of Scottish football to appear in an FA Cup final and they may be more used to playing in front of fewer than 2,000 people at their Raydale Park home but they certainly weren't overawed by the atmosphere in Glasgow.

Hearts made the more assured start and tested Gretna early on. However, the underdogs managed to weather the storm and work their way into the game. It developed into an exciting affair with plenty of chances, albeit mostly for the Edinburgh side. The breakthrough finally came after 39 minutes when Rudi Skacel scored from close in to put Hearts one up at half time.

However, in running away with the Second Division title, Gretna have built up a winning habit this season and certainly weren't going to let this game slip away without a fight. They got their chance to draw level on 76 minutes when O'Neil won a penalty. McGuffie saw his spot kick saved but reacted quickly enough to tuck away the rebound.

That goal took the tie into extra time and subsequently a penalty shoot-out although Hearts fans will feel they should have had a penalty of their own in the final minutes of the encounter. However, the greater experience of the Hearts players paid off as the held their nerve to win the shoot-out 4-2 and capture the cup. Gretna have the consolation of a place in Europe next season. - Paul