I don’t know whether it’s appropriate to keep referring to them as “kids”, I know I wouldn’t have appreciated it when I was their age, but regardless of the moniker, there’s a good deal to be optimistic when we see the batch of academy graduates long tipped for greatness finally becoming first team fixtures and also gaining recognition further afield.
Barry Bannan is reportedly about to be called up to the senior Scottish side and is receiving rave reviews from just
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And the hits just keep on coming. The breaking news is that John Carew is the latest name on the casualty list with a torn calf that will keep him out for three weeks.
Curiously, the Birmingham Mail, in an exclusive, say that the injury occurred “during a challenge with Brad Friedel during a training ground practice match yesterday afternoon”. What’s odd about that is the official site published an article this morning entitled “Houllier looking for Carew to
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You’ve probably already seen that Emile Heskey tore the medial meniscus in his right knee in training and will require an operation, keeping him out for three to four weeks.
With Gabby still on the come back trail after his own operation, John Carew always susceptible to a sudden injury, if this is not Nathan Delfouneso’s chance to get some time on the pitch, I don’t know when is.
With so many of the youngsters getting a look in so
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The FA have just released this fascinating “Tunnel Cam” video giving a glimpse behind the scenes in the build up, during and after England’s 2-1 victory over Romania Under-21s at Carrow Road last night. Nice to see Albrighton and Delfouneso looking relaxed and chatty as they exited the dressing room before kick off.
Both Villans started on the bench, but Albrighton came on in place of Utd’s Tom Cleverley for the last 15 minutes with the game tied at 1-1
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Gérard Houllier probably won’t mind the two week break in the domestic fixture schedule as he continues to settle in, but he will be without several key players:-
Ashley Young and Stephen Warnock were called up to the England squad for Tuesday’s European Qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley.
Marc Albrighton and Nathan Delfouneso are with England Under 21s ahead of the play-off against Romania for next year’s European Under 21 Championship in Denmark. The first leg is at Carrow Rd on
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Marc Albrighton and Nathan Delfouneso have been named in Stuart Pearce’s England Under-21 squad to play Portugal on September 3rd and Lithuania on September 7th.
You can see the full squad here. Interestingly, Newcastle’s Andy Carroll has also been called up.
In other news, Sky Sports have interviewed Bob Bradley who pretty much confirmed what we already knew on Sunday. However, by bringing us what is essentially the same news two days later, it’s now “breaking news”. Thanks Sky
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We were required to submit our Europa League squad for the play off round by midnight Monday and while I’ve waited for that information to filter through, part of me has wondered whether discussions about that squad could have been a catalyst for Martin O’Neill walking out.
I don’t know whether that was the case, I don’t know whether it was rushed through after MON walked, but at the moment it appears that Nathan Delfouneso and Marc Albrighton have not been
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Martin O’Neill revealed today that Nathan Delfouneso will be travelling out to Portugal tomorrow to link up with the rest of squad and he’s hoping the striker can play some part in Sunday night’s match against Benfica at least. Even if he doesn’t play this weekend, just being with the squad and not stuck at home is good for him ahead of the new season.
The same thinking applies to James Collins who is nursing his calf, but a little
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Spain coasted into the final of the European Under 19 Championship in France with a commanding performance against an England side who are clearly not in the same league technically.
Nathan Baker limped off midway through the first half with what looked like a pulled hamstring, Nathan Delfouneso may have wished he could have joined him after seeing very little of the ball during the first 45 minutes.
Spain held the majority of possession during the first a half and converted that
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