As Man City continue to push for a Champions League position, if not the Premier League, it is essential they add one or two top quality strikers to their squad to relieve the pressured shoulders of sulky home-sick Carlos Tevez considering the ineffectiveness of Emmanuel Adebayor and Joe; and the surprising statement from Roberto Mancini that Paraguay international, Roque Santa Cruz is surplus to requirements.

I’m surprised Mancini is letting Roque Santa Cruz go as I have always considered him to be a good striker, and he showed he can play in the Premier League when he was at Blackburn Rovers.  It is no surprise that several clubs have apparently shown interest in signing Roque Santa Cruz including Fulham who are currently managed by his former boss, Mark Hughes.  West Ham and Aston Villa are also allegedly interested in his services.

So, on to Blackburn Rovers whose owners decided to sack Sam Allardyce in December.  At the time I felt this was to announce a new manager in time for the January transfer window and we were going to see a well-known manager be given a large sum of money to stamp his authority on the team and also announce the Indian Venky Group ownership to the world.  Well, this week they have been linked to one of the biggest names in world football, Ronaldinho.  A well seasoned player that would certainly make a statement of intent for the new Blackburn owners though I’m not sure what else they would receive from a footballer that is currently overweight, overpaid and well past his sell by date!

Furthermore, the owners have stated that caretaker manager Steve Kean will remain in charge at least until the summer.  But it’s clear that any big name signings with overinflated wages and egos are going to create even more problems for a little known manager.

Other transfer speculation includes Tottenham’s ‘serious’ attempts to agree a two-month loan deal with LA Galaxy for David Beckham similarly to his previous loan spells with AC Milan.  Beckham would be a great impact sub.  But Spurs are also keen to strengthen their squad and are showing interest in Uruguay striker Luis Suarez who is currently playing his football for Ajax.

Chelsea have shown interest in signing Gary Cahill from Bolton.  They are desperately in need of top quality players that could hit the ground running but it’s not clear if Roman Abramovich is prepared to put his hand deep enough into his pockets to afford the quality players Chelsea need for a very quick fix.

As for Liverpool, I think they will sack Roy Hodgson.  It is a matter of when, not if.  So depending on how much influence he actually has over new signings will determine whether Liverpool by sell/buy players this month or hold off until the end of the season.  Either way, they need a good clearout before adding to a poor squad.

I don’t believe there will be too many big transfers this month but expect a few players surplus to requirements to be looking for new horizons.  I expect Robbie Keane, David Bentley and Jonathan Woodgate and possibly the eternally “unhappy” Emmanuel Adebayor to be on the move.

However, it has emerged that is isn’t strictly true. Although the LA Galaxy man won’t be at the tournament in a playing capacity, it now seems almost certain that he will be involved with the England squad in some way.

Speaking while promoting England’s 2018 World Cup bid, Beckham said that he has been made aware of “a role to play with the players and the team”. Apparently, Fabio Capello feels that he will be of benefit to the squad even though he won’t be playing.

Beckham admits that he hasn’t discussed the details with Capello, but says he is “honoured” to even be considered for a part in the Italian’s World Cup regime. The betting guide odds suggest England could be in with a chance of glory, and Beckham wouldn’t want to miss out on that.

What is in store for Beckham this summer though? Many have suggested that he is to be offered a coaching role.  In theory, this is probably the most likely scenario.

It would probably confirm the end of Beckham’s international career though and it could be strange for him to coach the players that he could have been training alongside. This is what makes me think that Beckham is in for a less traditional role.

Being an England legend, Beckham demands respect from fans, managers and players around the world. His opinion counts to everyone and over the years he has become a very influential figure in English football.

It is this side of things that Capello might be more inclined to use in South Africa. Perhaps he has seen that Beckham’s presence makes others raise their game.

This was probably the reason he would have taken him as a player if he was fit. Along with everyone else, Capello knew that Beckham wasn’t going to be heavily involved on the pitch, so would have taken him on the basis of his off the field influences. Anyone who has placed a free online bet on England will be keen for the manager to tap every resource he can.

However, much depends on how Beckham’s rehabilitation goes in the next few weeks, but hopefully he can come to some agreement with Capello.

After all, should the remarkable happen and England win the World Cup, it seems only right that Beckham, who has done so much for his country, should celebrating with the rest of the party.

david beckham

David Beckham’s dream of making a record breaking fourth appearance in the World Cup finals is in tatters following an Achilles tendon injury endured in AC Milan’s 1-0 win over Chievo on Sunday.

Beckham will fly to Finland today to undergo surgery and face s a lay off off at least three to four months, effectively ruling him out of the this years World Cup Finals in South Africa.

He pulled up as he prepared to kick the ball and allegedly called to the bench ‘It’s broken,’ as he collapsed to the ground in agony.

While he is no longer a first choice in the England team, Beckham has offered total commitment to the team whenever he has been selected and offers a valuable option to the squad as he has proven time and time again.

At 34 years old he had set his heart on  appearing for England in South Africa and his absence from the squad will not help England’s chances of winning the cup.

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David Beckham

Beckham was visibly angered by an insult from a another ‘fan’ during  this weekends  1-1 draw with Kansas City Wizards. It transpires that the man in the crowd wearing an England shirt had insulted Beckham’s wife Victoria.

“He shouldn’t actually be wearing that shirt because what he was saying about my wife was a disgrace.” Beckham said  after the incident.

Beckham must now realise that his move to America was at best ill advised and that an abundance of cash does not compensate for playing football at the highest level. He should never even have considered moving to the MLS when at 34 years old he has proved with AC Milan that he can still perform at the highest level.

Beckham is not a quitter however and rather than do the right thing and buy himself out of his contract with The Galaxy, I expect him to do the talking on the football field and win over the doubters in the US.

Fabio Capello’s near perfect reign at the helm continued, as England maintained a 100% record in world cup qualification, although question marks loom over the performance of the three lions.

It was clear from the off that patience would be a key factor. With Ukraine happy to sit back and soak up pressure, England had little to defend but also no great amount to offer up front either. The breakthrough came after 29 minutes, Peter Crouch justifying his selection with a great acrobatic finish.

Yet by the time the much maligned Andriy Shevchenko buried a bobbling, loose ball inside the England area in the 74th minute, England would need more than the rope Crouch had pulled out earlier on to drag themselves out of trouble.

David Beckham, who appears to have adopted the NFL role of punter – being brought onto the pitch purely to show his flair via set pieces – duly delivered a free-kick onto the head of Steven Gerrard, who nodded down for John Terry to score a captain’s winning goal five minutes from the end.

It wasn’t at all a fairytale result; England fans won’t be fooled that easily. Reborn Wayne Rooney flew into a needlessly violent challenge under frustration, and the team had a few spells where the simplest of passes seemed beyond the midfield quartet.

However, amidst all the doom and gloom and the negative reports, one thing is for certain: England got the result without playing their best football, and that, as the old cliché goes, is the sign of a great team. In the grand scheme of things, Fabio Capello has revolutionised the national team after this result.

Unconvincing? Perhaps.

Worrying? Not particularly.

Satisfying? You bet.

Fabio Capello’s experimentation with the left flank was a topic of much debate over recent games, but it appeared as though he finally had it cracked at a wet and windy Wembley. Employing a 4-4-2 shape, Capello put Steven Gerrard on the left of midfield with a  completely free role when England were in possession, knowing the 28 year-old had the stamina to retreat to his position the moment his team lost the ball.

This, together with Wayne Rooney’s floating role behind the main striker, led to fantastic link-up between the two playmakers. Constantly swapping roles and popping up everywhere, the two combined to set up Emile Heskey in the 7th minute.

The first half created opportunity after opportunity for the three lions, but at a cost: Emile Heskey, and then his replacement Carlton Cole, had to be subbed off due to injury. The second half saw a very different looking England formation; even though the result was the same if not better. Ben Foster and David Beckham came on as expected, and Stewart Downing took Steven Gerrard’s berth on the left flank.

This lacked much of the creativity shown in the first 45, as Downing and Beckham stuck to the touchlines and England’s crossing game came out. The only problem seemed to be that Downing had forgotten how to cross.

The vibrant attacking flourishes we saw against Germany at the end of 2008 and disappeared and an unconfident, frustrated Downing was a ghost compared to his Middlesbrough best. Perhaps he has been given one chance too many?

One player who did live up to his club form, however, was Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, rated number 1 in the Castrol Performance Index (CPI). He was constantly looking to turn and run at players, whilst creating innovative chances for his team-mates. He got his reward after 70 minutes as David Beckham, on his 109th appearance for his country, placed a cross for Rooney to nod past the Slovakian goalkeeper.

England were in full control of the game, and the final two goals came with ease as Frank Lampard slotted the ball into the net on 82 and Rooney finished superbly from the Chelsea man’s cross with seconds to play.

There will be worries about the fitness of the England strikers – Peter Crouch also struggling with a knock – yet chances are that all three can be patched up over the next four days.

Let’s hope the nation can be positive about this result, the English love to complain, but this game showed little to moan about. We await Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier with baited breath.

The gulf between the only two European teams to have won all four of their World Cup qualifying games was clear to see.  Spain were comfortable on the ball and showed such tight control, with near perfect first touch. Where as England looked to rush a pass, quicken the pace; and with a poor first touch, the England players were so tired chasing the game, and anytime they managed to win the ball, they were too tired to do anything with it.

Spain looked as good as they did last summer in the Euro 2008 and are quite possibly the best football national team in the world today. Tonight in Seville was the third time Spain have beaten England in the past two years, and they deserved it with two fantastic goals.

David Beckham came on to play the whole of the second half along with Frank Lampard, Robert Green, Matthew Upson and Peter Crouch. They were joined midway thorugh the second half by West Ham’s Carlton Cole.  They replaced Stewart Downing, Gareth Barry, David James, Phil Jagielka, Emille Heskey and Gabriel Agbonlahor, respectively.

The England team players  who played the full match were Glenn Johnson, Ashley Cole, John Terry, Michael Carrick and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Of all the England players, David Beckham’s performance was head and shoulders above all others.  I cannot believe anyone can doubt that David Beckham is still one of the best 22 England players in the world, and continues to outplay wide players such as Stewart Downing and Shaun Wright-Phillips, who tonight were preferred to David Bentley, Aaron Lennon and Ashley Young.

I’d like to hear from ANYONE who STILL argues as to whether David Beckham is good enough to be included in the England team.  And yes, over the past 12 years, David Beckham has proved he is as important a player for England as the late, great Bobby Moore.

Just to make it interesting, Capello will be without the services of three of his most naturally gifted players, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney are all ruled out through injury. It does give the coach the chance to promote some of the talented youngsters from the fringe of the squad and those players will be looking to stake a claim for a place in the World Cup squad.

Former England football captain David Beckham looks almost certain to equal Bobby Moore’s haul of 108 caps in tonight’s game, although he may have only a bit part to play in this game. Once again Beckham has gone away and worked on his fitness in a bid to remain a contender for the England team. His loan move to AC Milan has seen the player once again enjoying football at the highest level and his inclusion is totally justified.

Equally justified is the call up to the senior squad of Aston Villa’s James Millner and West Ham’s Carlton Cole, both who have played a huge part in the England Under21 squad in recent years, both have been selected on current form, which is reassuring.

It will be Capello’s biggest test so far, Spain are currently Euro champions and are playing excellent football with total confidence. They have an almost unfair abundance of top midfield players at present, while Cesc Fabregas is injured he has yet to become an automatic choice for Spain and the fact that Everton’s Mikel Arteta doesn’t even make the squad speaks volumes of the depth of skill that they have available.

I expect the England football coach will select the very much in form Michael Carrick, to adopt the role of holding midfielder, a position that he has filled brilliantly for United all season, leaving Lampard and Barry to link up with the pacey wingers Ashley Young and Shaun Wright Phillips.

Carlton Cole looks sure to get a chance to prove himself at long last, he has been the nearly man for so long, it is great that his form with West Ham has been rewarded.

A loss will not be the end of the world against Spain, but a win would certainly send confidence soaring.

LA Galaxy had previously said that they would not allow Beckham to be loaned out, but now seem to have accepted the inevitable. The MLS team will require Beckham to play in some pre arranged exhibition games in December in Australia and New Zealand.

Otherwise the player is eligible to play for Milan in both Serie A and in the UEFA cup competition. Beckham is keen to figure in England manager Fabio Capello’s World Cup qualifying games and the move to Milan will no doubt help the player increase his fitness levels as well as play football at a competitive level.

Beckham will join other world favourites, Kaka, Ronaldinho and Pato at the Italian club.

Once again England didn’t play with confidence or conviction.  Fabio Capello has still not been able to get the best out of certain players.  Until Rio Ferdinand scored in the 55 minute, neither Lampard, Gerrard or Rooney were playing anywhere like as fluently as they do for the respective clubs.

Yet another England international which will fuel the age-old debate of whether Lampard and Gerrard can play together.  Some critics miss the point here.  The question isn’t whether they can play together or not.  The question should be, is it in England’s best interest to have to great players attempting to play the same role?

Theo Walcott’s pace and enthusiasm and Emille Heskey’s tireless conviction caused Khazikstan problems in the first half.  But with no end product due to Rooney playing far too deep, left England with nothing to show as a left the pitch at half-time to a few choruses of booing.

Shaun Wright-Phillips offered some pace down the left side when he replaced Gareth Barry for the second half; and with the change in personal, England looked altogether more comfortable and forceful as they changed to a 4-4-2 formation with Rooney partnering Heskey upfront, and Lampard and Gerrard at least getting out from under each others boots!

It certainly seemed an overly cautious formation, all the while playing Gareth Barry was the holding midfielder.

In a game where Capello suggested he wanted England to ‘go out and enjoy themselves’ and build on the excellent performance against Croatia, I was sure he would start with an attacking 4-4-2 from the kick off.

If Capello wants England to lose their shackles and grow in confidence so certain players can perform as they do in the Premier League, then surely that will start by allowing players to attack lesser teams in a formation that has always brought England success in the past.

Capello is certainly a great manager but it appears leaving Michael Owen out of the squad is the only bold statement he is prepared to make; and falls short of sacrificing Gerrard or Lampard to the substitues bench.

David Beckham received the biggest cheer, as he replaced Theo Walcott for the last 20 minutes.  Beckham wins his 106th cap to equal Bobby Charlton’s record as the third most capped player ofr England of all-time.

Good points to be had from the game?  Well, as with other recent international matches, England began to play with some zest once they went 3-1 in front; but not before a scare or two, as Khazikstan pulled it back to 2-1 by way of an horrendous giveaway ball from Ashley Cole.  Cole received boos from a section of England fans from there on.

But for me, the highlight of the game was the excellent performances from substitutes Shaun Wright-Phillips and Jermain Defoe.  Both players show a level of confidence in their own ability that has been lacking from previous performances over the past year or two; and I believe that is because they are playing regular club football instead of bench-warming.

England win 5-1 but it took 55 minutes to breakdown Khazikstan.  How long would they have taken to score the first goal against a side placed above New Caledonia and Kuwait in the FIFA rankings?