There was something inevitable about Chris Hughton’s sacking today, almost if after the last few weeks, it was a case of when rather than why. I was extremely critical of Mike Ashley’s reign in the season that Newcastle United were relegated and yet here we are again, two years on and the man simply can’t leave things alone. The trouble with some chairman is that because they own a football club, they think they actually know about football. Ashley continually proves this isn’t the case.

What I’m constantly astounded by is the Mike Ashley managed to become a multi-millionaire. How can someone who clearly has absolutely no clue about football make his money in sports retail? Hughton had done an astounding job by getting Newcastle United promoted at the first time of asking. Lets not forget this side, in the majority, were the one that limped so poorly out of the Premiership in 2008-09. Hughton cleared the dead wood, refused to panic after the humiliation of a preseason hammering at Leyton Orient and hit the ground running once the Championship season started.

Every mistake he made the first time round seems to be coming back to haunt the Newcastle faithful. Could any set of fans have such an out of touch owner since Peter Swales held the power at Manchester City in the 1990′s? It simply beggars belief that a man who employed Dennis Wise as a Director of Football and Joe Kinnear as a manager, now feels Hughton isn’t the man to take the club forward. A man who believe that Xisco was a better player than James Milner, who claimed that Newcastle fans had threatened his children and has refused to put a penny into the club in 18 months.

As Chairman go, Ashley shows all the facets of arrogance personified. Clearly he is under the misapprehension that he actually understands football when, with the exception of letting Hughton have the managers position, every major decision he has made shows he has none. He allowed Keegan to be ostracised over transfer policy, employed a manager who hadn’t managed to in the top flight for almost ten years, gave the job to Alan Shearer and then never rang him back once the season had finished and allowed Adidas to release that awful, awful cream and yellow stripe vomit inducing away kit last season.

As if I had anything left to surprise me, English bookmakers suspended the betting on Alan Pardew being the new Newcastle manager. Seriously. Sacked by West Ham, resigned from Charlton, sacked by Southampton. Of course now Martin Jol has walked out on Ajax too so he is now going to be the new Newcastle United manager. No-one has any idea really. Yet you have to ask yourself which top quality manager, after seeing the nonsense, chaos and simple bad management on display at Newcastle United would want to work in that environment.

I just feel sorry for Newcastle United’s fans. Often incorrectly portrayed as delusional big club chanting fans, Newcastle, over the last 25 years have seen so much talent leave the club, so many close shaves to major success and yet they find themselves continually run by people with no respect them as fans, as people and as consumers. That, for any set of fans is galling to take. Question is, have they finally had their fill of Mike Ashley or will the continue to turn up regardless.My colleague Matt earlier mentioned his disgust at the decision which you can read here but nothing that goes on at St. James’ Park under Ashley surprises me at all.

Please leave me your feedback below and you can follow me at http://twitter.com/paulbestall

The Premier League has plenty of incredibly talented players, but who is getting more praise or attention than they merit, here is a countdown of the Premier League’s most overrated players. Feel free to add your suggestions.

10- Matthew Upson –West Ham

Played a key role for England during the 2010 World Cup, Upson was often seen as England’s third choice centre half. However at club level Upson hasn’t excelled, and has made some costly mistakes.

9- Charles N’Zogbia – Wigan

The controversial French winger has had some excellent performances over the last few years but is a real hit or miss player. On his day N’Zogbia is a real handful for defenders, but more often than not he frustrates. The former Newcastle United man has only played 45 minutes for his country, despite all the turmoil that has surrounded the France squad.

8- James Milner – Manchester City

After a couple of good seasons at Aston Villa, England midfielder James Milner made the move to Manchester City this summer, but the price tag surely isn’t a reflection on his ability. At a reported £26 million Milner has a world class price tag, but is far from world class, and while he may develop over the next few seasons, at present his transfer fee has made him very overrated.

7- Joe Cole – Liverpool

Another player who on his day has the ability to cause defences some real problems, but often frustrates. Cole’s move to Liverpool in the summer was supposed to be a time where he re-launched his career after been frozen out of the frame at Chelsea, but has struggled to find any real form in Liverpool’s disappointing start to the season.

6-Joleon Lescott – Manchester City

After a couple of good seasons at Everton, Manchester City made Lescott one of their top transfer targets in the summer of 2009. They signed the defender for a massive fee of between £22 million and £24 million, but since then Lescott has never really found any level of consistency and looks to be amongst one of the Premier League’s biggest transfer flops.

5- Ashley Cole – Chelsea

Cole is often labelled as the best left back in the World, but when he has come up against real quality Cole has often come up short. He has never really lived up to the hype, and for his country Cole disappoints on a regular basis, however he does have 85 caps to his name. For Chelsea, Cole is consistent but when things go wrong for him, he can become a real weak link in their back four.

4- Fernando Torres- Liverpool

There is no doubting that on his day, Torres is amongst the most deadly players in the league, however over the last few seasons the Spanish striker has struggled with injuries and a general lack of form. But despite just five goals this season Torres is still seen as talisman for Liverpool and amongst the world’s best forwards.

3- Steven Gerrard- Liverpool.

Liverpool’s second talisman and a player that could walk in to every single Premier League side. But Gerrard is another over-hyped player and is labelled amongst the world’s best midfielders, but in big games often struggles to impress. On his day, he can win Liverpool points on his own, but on others can go missing and make no impact whatsoever.

2-Wayne Rooney- Manchester United

Another English player who struggles to live up to a tag as one of the world’s best. At the World Cup in South Africa, Rooney made no impact at all, and has since struggled to find any sort of form. Rooney will need to consistently perform for the next few seasons if he is to really establish himself amongst the world’s footballing elite.

1-Glenn Johnson- Liverpool

The former Chelsea and Portsmouth man has been labelled as the league’s best right-back for the last few seasons now, but is so often exposed for his lack of prowess in the Liverpool defence. While very good going forward, his lack of awareness gets Liverpool in to trouble on a regular basis, and has often lead to dropped points. Johnson arrived at Anfield for a fee of around £17.5 million, which only emphasises how overrated he is.

So after a somewhat belated start to his managerial career at Villa Park, Gerard Houllier will need little time to assimilate himself back in to the rigours of English football. His six year stint at Liverpool is still fresh in the memory for many, especially for landing us with El Hadj Diouf for the last six years. Despite that, Houllier has managed to keep himself involved in football in France but it was still something of a left field appointment for Villa to turn to the Frenchman.

His time at Anfield was something of a continual failure to turn potential in to real league success, culminating in his final season, 2003-2004, seeing them finish in 4th but 30 points behind Premiership winners Arsenal. 6 trophies in his time there perhaps gave something of rose tinted view to his tenure at the helm, but trophies are trophies. Similarly to Benitez, Houllier managed to get Liverpool to finish as runners up but failed to build on that good work with some unusual and ultimately unsuccessful transfers.

He inherits a side that have continually challenged for European places over the last 3 seasons but a fractious relationship between the previous manager and owner has left a side in a state of limbo. Aston Villa have so far been a Jekyll and Hyde side in this campaign, the 6-0 hammering at Newcastle clearly a low point in the clubs start to the season. Yet the transfer kitty was boosted by the sale of James Milner, so at least there is the option of strengthening in January but the loss of European revenue is a bitter pill to swallow for the Villa faithful.

It’s the lack of options up front for me that holds Villa back from pushing on from where O’Neill kept them. With 3 main strikers, the lack of a 4th option of proven quality has been there undoing in the last couple of seasons. Heskey’s work rate is unquestionable, but his dreadful goal return well documented. Carew is still so widely inconsistent, a trait he has never been able to shift from bursting on to the scene with Rosenburg and then Valencia 10 years ago. Of course, Houllier signed and then sold the striker during his spell at Lyon. How that relationship starts could be crucial for both sides.

Gabriel Agbonlahor is another one who’s potential has yet to be completely tapped into and Houllier often likes to build his sides around pacey strikers. The striker certainly falls in to that category but seems to still snatch at chances when it seems easier to score. Villa also have the option of using Ashley Young in a striking role, but he often drifts out of games, a frustrating side of his game with his quality of passing and blistering pace.

Villa have not had the worst start to the season, the hammering at Newcastle aside and against Stoke City were the better side for almost an hour but still contrived to lose the game to an injury time Robert Huth winner. What is crucial that Houllier can try and move on from the defensive counter attacking tactics that began to unravel his relationship with the Liverpool faithful. Perhaps somewhat, his spell at Lyon is sometimes overlooked, due to the squad he inherited and the financial strength the club had when he joined them.

As is often the case with these things, Houllier may be viewing the fixture list through gritted teeth, with derbies against Birmingham City and Wolves, trips to Tottenham and Sunderland and the chance to try and stifle free scoring Chelsea in October too making up his first 5 league fixtures. A tough Carling Cup tie at home to Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday is not the easiest game to make your managerial bow at your new club either. At least he’s been through it all before and forewarned is forearmed.

So the transfer saga of the summer is over as Manchester City have finally completed the signing of England international James Milner with Stephen Ireland moving to Villa Park as part of the deal.

While Manchester City have undoubtedly got themselves a top quality player we will have to wait and see whether or not the move turns out to be a good one for Milner. City fans will take to Milner as the supporters of all his previous teams have done because he not only brings with him an abundance of quality but a great work ethic. However, the big question remains was the time right for Milner to move on?

Since moving to Villa permanently in August 2008 Milner’s game developed greatly under the guidance of Martin O’Neill. Playing alongside other young English prospects such as Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor the team flourished and established themselves as a top six Premier League team looking to make the next step and break into the ‘big four’. Milner played a big part in this and his impressive performances hadn’t gone unnoticed as he established himself in the England squad. Playing week in, week out, Milner was clearly enjoying his football and the timing of this move to City just seems strange in my opinion. While O’Neill has departed Villa they still have a squad capable of having another impressive campaign and Milner would be an integral part of this as his performance at the weekend showed.

The Villa side know each other inside out and play as a team and this is something that will take time to establish at Eastlands. Milner may also have to come to terms with the fact that he will not play every game. I don’t think he has moved for the money but that will accusation will be thrown at him because he will be getting paid significantly more than he was at Villa Park. A former teammate of Milner’s Gareth Barry made a similar move the season before and his game has not progressed a great deal since then, some would argue it has taken a step back. Milner is a great player and I would like him to do well at Manchester City but can’t help but feel he wouldn’t have gone far wrong by staying put at Villa for a while longer. As the saying goes, if it isn’t broken don’t try and fix it and Aston Villa football club despite O’Neill’s departure is anything but broken.

Articulate, funny and an enthusiastic celebrator of his team’s goals, Martin O’Neill is one of the most popular men in football. Having done a superb job at Leicester City, and a very good one at Celtic (despite quite heavy spending) he was linked with the Manchester United job in 2002 (before Ferguson stayed on) and was interviewed for the England Managership in 2006. Many think he would be the perfect candidate for the latter, while others think he and David Moyes would be good ‘home-grown’ choices if and when the former becomes available. He inherited David O’Leary’s position at Aston Villa in 2006, as he was hired by Randy Lerner – who had recently succeeded ‘Deadly’ Doug Ellis as owner of Aston Villa – and according to many pundits did a fantastic job, leading Villa to three consecutive 6th place finishes after a modest 11th place in his first season.

This conclusion has been drawn understandably, but it relies upon a red herring of a statistic. O’Neill’s many acolytes often state that he single-handedly turned a club that finished 16th in 2005-06 consistently into a top 6 club. This understates the level of investment given to O’Neill compared to his predecessor. Whereas O’Leary was able to spend roughly £5m net per season at Villa, O’Neill spent £83m in his four seasons – four times more per season than the Irishman.

During his first season, having spent £16m net, the improvement from 16th to 11th, whilst not being bad, is nothing exceptional with the extra resources available. He insitgated a much-needed overhaul of O’Leary’s squad, buying success stories John Carew and Ashley Young at considerable expense while selling white elephants such as Milan Baros.

The next season, O’Neill spent just £1m net. The improvement from 11th to 6th perhaps came residually from the previous January’s signings (including Carew and Young) being allowed to ‘bed in’ at the club in the previous ‘transition’ season. The signings made in the summer ranged from the moderate (£3.5m for Zat Knight) to the ridiculous (£5m for Marlon Harewood), with only Nigel Reo-Coker and Knight (£11m combined) contributing in any way to the team’s improvement. O’Neill did extremely well to lead this squad to sixth place, but it was in his sales where his success is tempered. Players such as Gary Cahill, Liam Ridgewell, Steven Davis and Aaron Hughes, sold for modest prices by O’Neill, could have acted as the back-up expensively assembled later on in their positions.

The next season, 2008-09, O’Neill splurged £45m net, looking to break into the Champions League. Brad Friedel, James Milner and Carlos Cuellar contributed greatly to this quest, whereas Steve Sidwell, Luke Young and Curtis Davies figured intermittently. Nicky Shorey’s purchase for £5m was comparable in wastage only to that of Marlon Harewood. For this expenditure, Villa attained the same 6th place position after threatening Arsenal’s position in the top four for much of the season. From a very strong position with 15 games to go, Villa collapsed. They struggled for goals as Young, Milner and Agbonlahor tired late in the season, scoring only 16 in 14 games after March 1st.

One major flaw with O’Neill’s transfer policy at this time was his exaggerated belief in the 2007-08 players. A strong sixth placed finish was an overachievement with the players at his disposal – the ‘next level’ of Champions League football required players of greater quality. 1 win in 9 home games against the rest of the top 10 that season suggests that the side lacked the technical quality and imagination to win the tough games needed to finish fourth. Away this was less of a problem, as they could counterattack the more attacking home sides, but at home the level of creativity needed to break solid ‘playing for a point’ teams down was not there.

Moreover, spending £16m on Sidwell, Shorey and Luke Young when players such as Maynor Figueroa, John Paintsil and Dickson Etuhu came into Fulham and Wigan respectively for much less, was indicative of O’Neill’s unimaginative transfer policy. The latter three signings would surely have left greater scope for a striker or creative midfielder of immediate quality, exactly what was needed in his first choice XI. Perhaps O’Neill’s lack of foreign transfer acumen, or a seeming taste for dealing with a largely British dressing room was his biggest flaw. Again he hadn’t done badly by maintaining the team’s position in the European positions, but stagnation would surely not cost £45m under a manager doing an ‘exceptional job’.

Last season saw another sixth place finished after spending £22m net more. With the increasing power of Tottenham and Manchester City, sixth again was by no means a failure but O’Neill’s selection, style and transfer policy was once again Anglo-centric. Stewart Downing came in to help relieve the pressure upon his creative midfielders, but at £10m he was by no means a bargain. Richard Dunne’s age, lack of re-sale value and his wages make his £6m transfer fee from Man City again look no better than good, despite his very impressive performances. That he was signed on deadline day along with James Collins indicates a distinct lack of planning from O’Neill, even if they turned out to be very good on the pitch. Stephen Warnock was a good addition to the first team but was not cheap at £8m. The signing of Fabian Delph has not provided immediate dividends, but he surely is for the future.

Once again Villa defended well for large parts of the season – Carlos Cuellar impressing especially – but the lack of depth up front meant again the strain fell upon Agbonlahor and Carew. They were often magnificent away to Big Four clubs but couldn’t breach top drawer defences at home. If O’Neill had spent some of his budget on a creative schemer rather than on Habib Beye and James Collins, perhaps they would have been able to crack the top four, especially with Liverpool’s capitulation.

In cup competitions O’Neill showed that he is an astute tactician, reaching an FA Cup Semi and a Carling Cup Final, but the major failing in both defeats was Villa’s inability to create and finish chances. In one-off games, against Chelsea and Manchester United, teams who struggle to create and finish their chances are generally punished. O’Neill’s whingeing about Nemanja Vidic’s ‘definite sending off’ in the Carling Cup final masked another disappointing attacking display, despite the early boon of Milner’s penalty.

Again O’Neill was unable to take his side to a higher level than he had in 2008,  due in part to paying over the odds for players who were Premier League quality but not Champions League quality.

Thus while he did by no means a poor job at Aston Villa his net outlay when compared to Everton in 2008-09 (under a manager proving himself to be vastly superior) and to a lesser extent Spurs last season is indicative of a manager doing a solid, unspectacular job. Ultimately, that’s all he did, no more, less.

After the World Cup, being an English footballer is hardly something to brag about. For many critics the term ‘English footballer’ is a by-word for over-paid and over-rated.

However, those critics will be dismayed by the new UEFA home-grown rule which has come into effect this season. Dismayed because it has increased the worth and value of English born players who, whisper it quietly, perhaps don’t deserve it.

The rule states at every club must have least eight “home-grown” players in a squad of 25. To you and me, home-grown may well evoke images of student flats window sills crowded with lush, green, smoke-able plants. But in football terminology ‘home grown’ is a player who has to be registered for at least three seasons at an English or Welsh club between the ages of 16 and 21.

So squads light on home grown players have to buy in Englishmen to make up their quota. Hence we see Liverpool’s interest in Villa journeyman full back Luke Young. In their signing of Joe Cole, it went un-noticed that he would also improve their previously depleted home-grown quota.

Scott Parker has been targeted by Villa, Spurs and by Liverpool ahead of any serious European talent presumably in part because of his nationality. Arsenal need a centre half or three and so the new rule has put Phil Jagielka on their shopping list instead of Wenger’s more usual choices of some obscure French kid who no-one has heard of but turns out to be rather good.

Chelsea’s 21 players who have been given squad numbers so far contain just five home-growners which means a step up for three English reserves or a dip into the market to top up their quota.

Of course, many clubs will buy in players aged 15 and bring through for three years by which time they will qualify as home-grown players. But as this rule was only pushed through last September, we’re a couple of years away from that being possible for every club. So though the intention is to make English-born players have more chance to progress, in the long run, this may still not happen, as English teenagers are rejected in favour of more skilful young foreign imports.

In the short term it potentially gives domestic players a chance to flourish – the doubts that many are merely padding to be used only in emergency remains – but it also drives up the price of English players. They have become more valuable merely by being born here, not always because they are especially great footballers, which can’t be a good thing and may go some way to explain the 30 million quid being asked for James Milner; an extraordinary figure when you consider a prospect such as Ozil is reputedly available for half that figure.

All of which ensures that football continues to walk on the outer reaches of financial sanity.

Yesterday I had a short conversation on Twitter with EPL Talk’s very own Laurence McKenna that went something like this:

lozcast: Mascherano = £25m? Milner = £25m+? Discuss

JesseChula: @lozcast Milner=versatile, can play either wing or in the middle, young. Masch=solid, likes to kick people. Ya know, get stuck in.Seems fair

lozcast: @JesseChula Still don’t get the valuation difference. Masch is…! Milner is good, best in his ‘position’ in the world? Not sure…

JesseChula: @lozcast is Masch best in world in his position? De Jong, Cambiasso, Busquets??

The debate really could have gone on and on, but McKenna’s points got me thinking about the valuation of James Milner compared to that of the captain of Argentina and then further, his value compared to that of other big names that have completed a transfer this summer. The open transfer window always brings stories of over-priced players, but how close is the £25m price tag placed on Milner to being a fair assessment of what he’s actually worth?

Milner looks set to finally leave Aston Villa after suitors Manchester City seem willing to up their bid for the 24 year old England international. But is Milner’s English-ness a large contributor to his potentially over-inflated transfer fee City look set to pay? Let’s face it, good to above average English players will always go for around the same price that good to great foreign players will go for simply because they aren’t a dime a dozen and every Premier League club wants at least a few.

Originally, City bid some £18m plus an extra payment of £2m later on only to be rejected by Aston Villa as too low a bid for their prized midfielder – a classic case of the club who owns the player holding out for more dough because they know they can get it. 

Equally, Inter Milan are bidding for the services of Javier Mascherano from Liverpool who set the bar high at £30m with Inter looking closer to the £20m mark to secure Mascherano’s services. All variables point to the two clubs meeting somewhere in the middle. As McKenna stated on Twitter, the two midfielders could end up going for close to the same amount.

Of course we know the two midfield players are largely different in what they bring to their respective teams. Mascherano is a deep lying, defensive midfielder who’s good in the tackle and an effective protector of the back four. Milner is most comfortable as an attacking winger dribbling down the flanks and crossing the ball into the box. Yet he can also play in the center of the pitch in a more attacking role and can score goals. The two are separated by only 2 years in age and are both experienced Premier League and International players. So which one is really worth more? Or, is it even possible to tell?

A like for like comparison of the two players just doesn’t work, and which player could benefit his new side more than the other depends on more than just that one player – it depends on the supporting cast, the system, tactics, etc. In order for McKenna and I to settle our conversation, we must look at some recent activity in the transfer market this summer to make a realistic comparison and find middle ground.

As of press time, the most expensive Premier League transfer of the summer has been the signing of YaYa Toure by Manchester City from Barcelona for £28m, second is David Silva from Valencia also to City for £24m, which means Milner could go to the Citizens for almost the exact same fee as World Cup winner David Silva, or if  Aston Villa up their asking price, Milner could go for close to what City payed Barcelona for their Champions League winning defensive midfielder, Toure.

When put in that kind of perspective, McKenna’s original point on Milner’s value seems closer to the truth than I originally thought. However, wouldn’t worth simply be defined as how much a certain club is willing to pay for a player?

This, however, can be dissected in two ways. First off, as previously stated, McKenna could be correct in his theory that he thought the £25m was simply too much for Milner. This would be a likely outcome if the issue was simply black and white with no gray area to contend with. 

The second and more likely outcome to the debate would be that due to City’s willingness to throw what cash they need to in order to get their man, they’ve unknowingly tainted and inflated the transfer market during the summer. This is simply transfer market 101 and has been repeated time and time again since the Premier League’s inception. Clubs realize City’s intentions to punch high above their weight in buying up numerous players, they’ll therefore hold out for more cash because they know City have it to spend.

Regardless of your opinion, the next few days and weeks will likely tell us exactly what Milner is worth – which again, I believe to be exactly whatever the club buying him value him at, regardless of if we think it’s over-inflated.

Am I prepared to place Milner’s name in with Toure and Silva? Well, maybe not just yet, but with his Premier League experience, attacking flair and ever growing potential, he could just be up there with Mascherano.

In this weekend’s tastiest World Cup fixture, long time rivals Germany and England will meet in a head on battle with dramatic implications and a quarter final birth on the line. Will the English get their chance to conquer their demons during a dramatic penalty shootout, or will the young and organized Germans overrun the tired looking English midfield and back line?

Not one for elaborate predictions, here are 5 key players to pay special attention to during this Sunday’s clash between the participants of the 1966 Final.

• Mesut Özil, Germany- Born in Germany to Turkish immigrant’s, Özil is the creative midfielder that Germany will need on top form to unlock an England back line that has conceded only 1 goal so far this tournament. The Werder Bremen play-maker has a sweet left foot and possesses the ability to take control of a game from midfield and provide good service for German forwards. Özil is no stranger to high profile games with England, during last summer’s U21 Euro final, he was voted man of the match in Germany’s 4-0 destruction of England by scoring one goal and providing 2 assists. Özil can and will score goals if the England back line give him too much space (see under his game winner v Ghana in the group stage). He’ll likely sit just behind striker Miroslav Klose and will look to feed the prolific German striker in hopes they’ll unlock England’s solid, yet at times shaky back line
• Jerome Boateng or Holger Badstuber, Germany- German boss  Joachim Löw elected to make a change at left back for their encounter with Ghana earlier this week. It’ll be interesting to see if Löw sticks with Boateng or resorts back to the young Badstuber who had a few bad moments in Germany’s 0-1 loss to Serbia in the second round of group stage matches. England attacked with moderate success down the right side of midfield with James Milner in their crucial 1-0 win v Slovenia and I’m certain Fabio Capello will stick with Milner v Germany. The battle is sure to rage down England’s right side regardless of who Löw picks as England will look to use width to provide service to England’s strikers.
• Wayne Rooney, England- miles away from the form that heard the striker’s name mentioned in “player of the year” sentences all those months ago, the versatile England play-maker and striker is slowly looking as if he’s ready to have a break through match during the World Cup before England bow out. The only question that remains is will he make his mark on this tournament before England are eliminated? Rooney must be at or close to his best in order for England to have a realistic chance at beating Germany on Sunday. He’s slowly improving each game, but questions abound on his true fitness levels after experiencing minor knocks and injuries during the last few months of Manchester United’s domestic campaign. We all know how dangerous Rooney can be when on form, which is why he’ll definitely be one to watch come Sunday.
• James Milner, England- the previously mentioned Milner was a difference maker for England in their match v Slovenia. His on the ball skills, dribbling and crossing abilities ultimately led to England’s winning goal yet he proved dangerous throughout the rest of the match and gave Slovenia defenders trouble on and off all day. I believe Capello will have taken notice of Milner’s contributions and will hope to see the Italian pick him again for the highly anticipated knockout match on Sunday. Watch for Milner’s poise on the ball and his lulling of Germany’s full backs before his crosses into the box.
• David James, England- since games can no longer end in a draw, the dreaded (or loved) penalty shootouts are now a distinct possibility, especially when teams are so evenly matched in the tournament’s later stages. Although I hope the game doesn’t have to end this way, both sides will have spent a productive amount of time practicing taking and stopping penalties in training this week. Since James has replaced Robert Green in England’s goal, he’s been nothing short of solid, yet slightly untested. England’s back four have been equally as impressive and have limited the number of clear cut chances on the England goal. One thing’s for sure, all eyes will be on both keepers should the game be forced to end in such a dramatic manner.

Feel free to leave a comment with your prediction or key players you’ll be watching on Sunday.

When you’re a football club and you have to come up with ideas of how to promote the sale of season tickets during the summer months, what do you do?

If you’re Aston Villa, you release three very creative videos and hope that they go viral.

James Milner, Carlos Cuellar and John Carew star in three separate videos. Without a doubt, they’re well shot and are pretty well produced. I’m not so sure they’ll help sell season tickets to Villa Park, but if the club’s object is to get people talking about the topic, it’s working.

What do you think of the videos? Share your feedback in the comments section below.

Tip of the hat: 101 Great Goals.

It was often said through out much of the last ten years that England’s midfield was its strongest point. With Beckham in his pomp and Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard ably assisted by a constant rotation of players wedged in to the left midfield position, it often felt a little hollow. In the big games, they disappeared too easily. Until Capello arrived, it was constantly suggested that Gerrard and Lampard couldn’t play together and to some degree it was correct. Yet, great players should be able to fit in to any system, regardless of their natural instincts.

For South Africa 2010, things are very different. Of course, Beckham has no chance to play in the World Cup, which is unfortunate. Gerrard has had his worst season since becoming a first team regular at Liverpool as Liverpool huffed and puffed their way through dull performance after dull performance. Even the ever consistent Lampard had his struggles at the beginning of the season as he tried to familiarise himself with Ancellotti’s diamond formation but has been rampant over the last few weeks.

Add to that the major worries that Capello has on England’s right side. Walcott out of form and in and out of the side, Shaun Wright-Phillips struggling and Aaron Lennon just returning to the Spurs squad. Of course, James Milner could easily slip into that position, but he’s been excellent playing through the middle for Villa this season and the managers quandary becomes apparent. The left side also is far from decided, with Joe Cole, Stewart Downing, Adam Johnson and Ashley Young all having a claim on the position too.

Choices, choices choices but who to take. In 2006, Eriksson chose 9 midfielders in his squad of 23 and in 2002 took 7 midfielders. I’ve already picked 12 out of 23, which means I may have reflectively bump someone from the back line, but I’m going for 7 midfielders to join the squad.Gerrard, Lampard and Barry are all shoe-ins for me, no question. The question is who to add to that trio.

Crucially, James Milner has to be in, simply because he has been consistently outstanding this season. His ability to play on either wing, through the middle and even at right back cannot be overlooked. Sometimes a player who is so adaptable can sometimes be overlooked, but Milner’s case for inclusion is too strong. England’s record cap holder at Under 21 level has now progressed to becoming a valuable member of the squad. He has to be on the plane to South Africa.

That leaves several players scrapping for just 3 places, so best to rule a few out immediately. Adam Johnson, despite some rather unusual clamour for him to be included may find this is a tournament too early for him. He’s not really settled in to the Manchester City side, but is playing regularly but it would be a massive risk to take him as an international novice. Look at Theo Walcott in 2006, he never got a sniff of the first team and it probably cost England that they didn’t take Defoe or Bent instead. A bold move that backfired spectacularly.

Ashley Young is another one who is simply too widely inconsistent to be chosen along with Stewart Downing. Both Villa wing men can be devastating on their day but I don’t feel either can match the 3 wide players that I’ve chosen. Young is also easily got at, defenders can easily wind him up and he retreats into his shell too easily when things go against him. His distribution is so inconsistent as to be astounding, yes he may have pace by the bucket-load but invariably wastes great opportunities.

Downing, for all the clamour for a natural left footer, also flatters to deceive. I have constantly been amazed at the amount of hype this lad has had burdening him for so long because I can’t see what all the fuss is about. I’m assured by Middlesbrough fans he is a fantastic player, but I’ve never seen him have a great game, unlike some of his England rivals. So sorry, no place for him either.

The three I’ve plumped for may be classed as risks, but in the circumstances, all 3 can give us something the other contenders can’t. First up, Theo Walcott. The night he scored a hat trick against Croatia saw him jump in estimation, both in England and abroad. He has certainly continued to improve but still can’t force himself to become a regular at Arsenal. That’s no disrespect towards the lad, but he has been in devastating form for Arsenal when in form this year.

The other two may be the biggest risks of the lot, Joe Cole and Aaron Lennon. Both players have at times shown ability and skill that set them apart and both have benefited from the tutelage of Harry Redknapp. Lennon was highly regarded when he joined Spurs but he would be the first to admit that he’d slightly lost his way a little before Redknapp became manager. Until his injury, Lennon was playing the best football of his career and gave Spurs a thrust down the right flank that they’ve missed since December.

With him only just returning to fitness, Lennon could be a major risk but it could also be a bonus to take such devastating pace that has effectively had a four month break. Cole meanwhile has had similar struggles with injury and has the additional stress of his contract expiring in the summer. He is certain to be sure of plenty of suitors regardless of whether he stays at Chelsea or not. Cole has had a tough season but his grit is extremely underrated. Cole is a fighter, he digs in and he gives 100%, England can ask for nothing less.

So that’s my 7 midfielders for South Africa. Gerrard, Lampard, Barry, Milner, Walcott, Lennon and Cole. With my choice of Ledley King too, it gives us cover in midfield if really required, but I feel those 7 can cover all eventualities. It’s got experience, pace, adaptability and skill. What do you think? Please let me know below: