I’m no expert on how many games the French play a year, but I’d have to imagine that 18 games will take the best part 18 months to 2 years to complete. It won’t be the biggest surprise in the world to hear Anelka tell FFF where to go over the next few days.

Whatever the problems France were having, and whether Dominech was useless or not, it is still no excuse for what Anelka is alleged to have said to him. You can’t have that going on in a dressing room.

In my opinion the French Football Federation should have just kicked him into touch for good. The punishment they have handed out may well be the equivalent of just that, but why not just come out and say it? Make an example of him.

They surely are not scared of upsetting Anelka supporters within the squad. If so, and there is supporters of him within the squad, then surely they should go as well.

Also, why wasn’t Evra stripped of the captaincy? If your captains behaviour is that bad that you see fit to impose a 5 match ban on him, then how can he be fit to captain his country?

It would appear that the English FA isn’t the only who don’t seem to learn.

His quote “I think the English team should be managed by an English manager,” appeared to be a future generalization rather than a direct threat to Fabio Capello’s job. Although, after the week Capello has just had, the future, could be sooner rather than later.

I don’t want to be seen as a typical FA basher, as I’m not one. But there does appear to be eliments of the press and media out there that blames the FA for taxes and bad weather, etc, and sometimes you can see why. Personally, considering their remit – to cover football from local Sunday league level, right up to the England team – I don’t think they do that bad a job.

The problem they seem to have is seperating the professional side of the game, from the amateur side. This whole idea of creating ‘Club England’ to keep it apart from general duties would be good one if it was run properly and professionally, but the problem is that it appears to not be run professionally.

Bevington was invisable last week during the Beckham furore. This is also not the only time recently that ‘Club England’ seem to have disappeared.

Where were they during the whole issue of the embarrassing Capello index? Also, why was Capello allowed to engage in public haggling over his new contract in the build up to the world cup, when he had stated none of his players were to do this?

And then get his contract as well. Who’s fault that is, is a debate in itself.

Then we had the lack of direction after the world cup fiasco when Sir Dave Richards stated he wanted two weeks to decide if he wanted to keep Capello, while the shameless Italian pissed off on a seemingly never ending holiday.

Then it was announced – coincidently the day after Roy Hodgson took the Liverpool job – that Capello would stay on as England manager. Another example of lack of direction.

All this is just basic stuff. This isn’t going anywhere near the real issues of developing young talent and a coaching system for the future, all duties that the FA is responsible for. On this evidence the chances of ever creating a system like the Spanish one, or Dutch one, throughout the Premier League is light years away.

At the moment the FA are residing over a great football stadium with no pitch. An England manager that can’t even communicate in English, with no people skills, who conned them into giving him a new ‘money-for-old-rope’ contract, with a potential £12 million payout to get rid of him.

They have Dave Richards involved who apparently presided over Capello’s contract fiasco. Sir Trevor Brooking, who dosen’t seem capable of getting any of his ideas taken seriously or on board.

They have a Prince as their diplomatic figurehead who rarely shows his face, most English football fans would probably be surprised to find out he has anything to do with the FA. One year he couldn’t even be bothered to turn up for the FA cup final. And he has also been invisable in the 2018 campaign, they might as well give David Beckham his job, he has already shown more commitment to the cause.

This simply isn’t good enough. So come on FA, pull your fingers out and get this sorted, or step aside and let someone more suited do the job have a go.

A central midfield trio of Yaya Toure, Nigel De Jong and Gareth Barry against Spurs today didn’t look the most attacking line up I’ve ever seen, and the performance backed that up.

After the massive summer spending spree it already looks like the platform on which Mancini will base his season on, will be a negative, defensive minded one.

I totally understand that good teams are built on a solid base, and that a good defence is a fundermental part of that. But as Rafa Benitez found out to his cost two seasons ago, you need to be more positive and show attacking intent to win the Premier League.

If Mancini thinks he can defend his way to the title in true Italian fashion, then I think he has got another thing coming.

Not taking any notice of last weeks Community Shield result, but I think Manchester United will finish above Chelsea this season, and that probably would make them Premier League champions.

I think United will be stronger up front this season, they have added Javier Hernandez to the strikers to go along with Rooney, Owen and Berbatov.

I thought that Fergie didn’t use his strikers very well last season, and as a result he didn’t get the best out of Owen or Berbatov. He acknowledged that he under used Owen, so with the little man likely to get more chances this time round I see more confidence and more goals from him this year.

As for Berbatov, now in his 3rd year at the club, I think he will kick on and have a better season this year. Such was the limited chances in his 1st year at the club with Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez ahead of him, this could almost be classed as being only Berba’s 2nd season at the club.

He looked nervous last year, and like he was lacking in confidence. I don’t see a repeat of that this year, he is too good a player to not come good at some time and with him retiring from international football he has proved to Fergie that he is serious about succeeding at Old Trafford.

Main concerns about United are the legs of Giggs and Scholes. Michael Carrick needs to have a better season to compensate for this, and hopefully for United and England, Owen Hargreaves can finally overcome his injury problems and return to full fitness.

Even if United don’t win the league, I still find it hard to see Chelsea doing it. I find Ancelotti’s transfer policy this summer very strange, a lot of experienced players have left and not really being replaced. If there is a crop of youngsters coming through then they have kept it very quiet, it remains to be seen if they will sign anyone before transfer deadline.

Ancelotti would appear to be putting a lot of faith in Salomon Kalou, and that must be a risky move. I believe a lot depends on how fit they can keep Michael Essien, if the stays fit he could well drive Chelsea on to a successful season, if he gets injured there is no real replacement and they could struggle. As it stands, a lay of Chelsea looks value to me and is currently 2.92 on Betfair.

Along with United to win the league, I am going for Chelsea to finish in the top 4, along with Arsenal and Liverpool. I think both Arsenal and Liverpool will be a lot stronger this year, and could well push United for the title.

I think Manchester City’s squad will take a while to settle down, with Mancini possibly gone by Christmas, and Spurs haven’t really strengthened and I don’t really see any improvement for them in the league.

They are virtually assured of getting to the Champions League group stages, so I see Harry’s team getting slightly distracted and finishing 5th or 6th in the league.

My top 6 is :-

Man United
Arsenal
Liverpool
Chelsea
Man City
Tottenham

At the bottom, I suppose like everyone else in the country, I see Blackpool as a dead cert for relgation. Then I have Newcastle, West Brom, Wolves and Wigan also in the bottom 5 (in no particular order).

I really feel Wigan could go this year, any side that ships goals like they did last season is going to struggle, and how are they going to cope without Titus? They have a manager who likes to play football on the deck, and that is also not always the best formula for a side at the bottom.

I do feel a best price of 9/4 on them going down seems a bit short though, might keep an eye on this one and get on them when they hit a bit of form. I feel 4 or 5/1 would be a good price.

West Brom are evens for the drop, and it’s hard to see them staying up. Although I can see them taking it to the end of the season. Wolves need to build on last year, but I’m not so sure they will.

And I can’t see Newcastle doing much either, the only problem with backing them is if Hughton gets the sack early on and they manage to attract a top manager and give him money to spend in January. As they are at the moment though, I can see them being in the mix come the end of the season.

My bottom 5 is:-

Wolves
Newcastle
West Brom
Wigan
Blackpool

I’m not sure if this is a break down in translation, or a complete lack of respect from Capello, either way it is a bit of a PR disaster.

If it is a translation issue, it just further proves the theory that Capello can’t communicate properly with his players. I really hope they understand him better than I do, as I still can’t understand what he is trying to say in his press conferences or TV interviews.

Also, if it is true that Capello left it to Franco Baldini to call Beckham to inform him of the decision, then that is a total disgrace. Dosen’t Beckham deserve to be treated with a bit more respect than this? I think he certainly does.

No doubt Beckham will maintain his usual high level of dignity throughout this, he generally does. In the meantime we can only wait and see who Capello upsets next with his appalling man-management skills.

Paddy Power

As is usually the case in these markets, Betfair is generally a good indicator to see if anything is happening, and they have Eriksson at 3.05 favourite. Liquidity is currently very low, which would suggest there is not much good information out there on the likelihood of this happening at the moment.

With a bit of luck all this is just a rumour that got out of hand, and Randy Lerner is not that desperate to give Sven the job. I do hope though, that Lerner dosen’t make a rash decision and give him the job just because he is available, and the season is about to start.

So far Eriksson, who seems to be the parasite of English football, is yet to claim to have always been a lifelong Villa fan, but his agent has thrown his hat into the ring on his behalf.

Lerner Defends Himself

It is hard to know what to make of the situation at Villa now. On one hand Martin O’Neill would appear to have damaged his reputation walking out in this way, this close to the start of the season.

From Randy Lerner’s response on Wednesday, where he stated that the two men “no longer shared a common view as to how to move forward”, it would suggest that he is saying that O’Neill didn’t except the financial restraints being placed on him.

On the other hand, it has been common knowledge for some time now that Lerner had called time on big spending, and he made it clear to everyone that players needed to be sold before new ones could come in, that the books needed to be balanced.

O’Neill would have been well aware of this. So why quit now?

Could it be that O’Neill maybe reluctantly accepted this, but then was told that the amount of money that would be made available to him from the proposed sale of James Milner to Manchester City would not be the full amount recieved?

If so, O’Neill could rightly say that Lerner has gone back on his word!

For me, Mascherano is the modern typical footballer, he made it clear he wanted to go to Barcelona last summer, and was then happy to sign a new contract with a nice rise in his pay, before again turning around and saying he wants to leave.

The way he has gone about his business is nothing short of a disgrace. He blatently ignored Hodgson’s attempts to contact him, and his representatives made his intention to leave public. He is basically doing all he can to burn his bridges and force Hodgson to have to sell him.

Before signing for Liverpool he had a spell at West Ham with his compatriot Carlos Tevez, during this time he also seemed happy enough to pick up his wages without making any meaningful contribution to the Hammers plight.

Lets be honest about this, Mascherano is far from ther greatest footballer to ever grace the Premier League and his presence won’t be too badly missed. His temperament is also a bit suspect, and his brain dosen’t seem the sharpest, as his sending off at Old Trafford a couple of seasons ago proved.

If Liverpool get around £25-£30 Million for a player of his ability, then they are laughing all the way to the bank.

Go for it Roy.

One thing that is for sure is that it is a major coup for Roy Hodgson. There was one or two discontenting voices coming from the Anfield faithfull at the appointment of Hodgson. A signing of this calibre should appease any doubters that Hodgson isn’t a big enough name to attract the star players to Anfield.

Should Gerrard go, then Cole should be the ideal replacement for him. Or if Gerrard stays, then Hodgson could have a top class attacking trio of the two Englishmen and Fernando Torres, should he remain at Anfield too. And the signs are that he will, as yet there is no reason to suggest Torres wants out.

It is also hard too see why Cole would have signed if Gerrard and Torres where about too leave, and he would surely have got a commitment from Roy Hodgson that there is no plans to cash in on their two most valuable assets before he signed.

Questions about Cole continue to be asked. Why didn’t Ancelotti or Capello seem to rate him high enough to make him a regular in either of their teams? Also Jose Mourinho didn’t seem to trust him enough. Ferguson and Wenger also didn’t appear too keen to sign him. Could all these managers be wrong?

For me, I think that Cole has been unfairly pigeon holed by certain managers as this bloke who is handing to come off the bench and change things, or someone who dosen’t do his defensive duties too well.

Although his problems have mainly been with foreign managers, it looks more of a perennial English issue to me. In a way similar to people like Hoddle or Le Tissier, Cole seems to be a victim of his talent.

Instead of being given the freedom to express himself he is bogged down playing in roles where he is expected to do his defensive duties and is not given the license to do what he does best, and just be an attacking force.

The sort of player that a team like Holland or Spain would pick and ask him to do what he is good at. Rather than the English policy of selecting a player and asking him to play a role that is not suited to him.

Hopefully Hodgson has a clear role for Joe, and that his signing is because Cole likes Hodgson’s plans and will find himself playing in his preferred role. If Cole could really come of age and be the player we all believe he can be, not only will it be good for Liverpool, but England could also prosper from it.

I really hope that Roy Hodgson is a success at Liverpool as it is about time an end was put to this myth that if the big clubs need a new manager they have to look abroad.

There are some good English coaches around, but with the instant success formula needed in the Premier League no big clubs are prepared to take a chance on them. And as a result of that we now have a foreigner making a mess of the national team.

So come on Roy Hodgson and Joe Cole, lets prove the doubters wrong, and show them that the English are good enough!

There is currently no bookmaker offering odds on this outcome, with Betfair the only place still with an active market where Jol is currently available to back at 1.20. The liquidity is very low though, which is usually a good sign that the outcome is still not totally set in stone and should be treated with caution.

In the next manager to leave his job market, VC Bet have made Newcastle’s Chris Hughton their 2/1 favourite, followed by the Italian trio of Roberto Mancini @ 5/1, with Roberto Martinez and Roberto Di Matteo both at 6/1.

Sunderland’s Steve Bruce is next in line at 7/1, with Avram Grant, Alex McLeish, Sam Allardyce and Mick McCarthy all at 8/1. Interestingly Ian Holloway is as long as 12/1 with Chandler, as when Paddy Power had their book up earlier in the weekend the Blackpool boss was one of their favourites, along with Mancini.

Manchester City boss, Mancini looks fairly vulnerable, as does Chris Hughton. Think Hughton will be gone by November if Newcastle don’t make a great start, with the ‘we had to act now to get a new man settled in before the transfer window’ excuse rolled out.

As for Mancini, who knows what Man City will do, he could be gone after 5 or 6 games if they don’t get off to a good start.

Following Mark Hughes treatment last season, I would imagine the owner won’t tolerate a slack start from the Italian after all the money he has spent. Also he didn’t have a brilliant end to last season and if my memory serves me right, he had a worse record than Hughes did, I’m sure all this won’t be lost on the owners!

“I don’t think the referee controlled the match well,” said Van Marwijk. What is he on about?

Is he criticizing Webb for not sending off enough of his Dutch side? I somehow doubt it!

What he is probably saying is that it’s Webb’s fault that his side lost, that it’s Webb’s fault that his team kicked lumps out of the opposition.

In an act of deflecting attention away that Alex Ferguson would have been proud off, Van Marwijk is just using Webb as a scapgoat for his disgraceful tactics, they didn’t work and thankfully Holland lost.

So get over it Bert, and stop being a bad loser.

Arjen Robben also blamed Webb, apparently it was the referee’s fault that he missed his two one-on-ones with the keeper, and bottled his chance to win the world cup for Holland. Shame.

It is easy and a cheap shot for people like Johan Cruyff to say Webb should have sent off two Dutch players in the first half, and for Guillem Balague to make the outrageous claim that Webb should have sent off four players, including Carlos Puyol.

What would they be saying if Webb had done this? That the referee wanted to be the centre of attention, that he ruined the game.

Howard Webb did well in my view, I thought it on the night, and on reflection my opinion hasn’t changed.