England, International Retierment, Pavlyuchenko

England v Brazil coming up on Saturday and a first look at England against a South American side under Capello. I'll go for a draw as a prediction because I think the Brazilians under Dunga have added a different dimension to their play, they seem to be more of an Italian team than a traditional Brazilian one. He's added steel to that midfield with Gilberto Silva and Melo, strength up front with Luis Fabiano and of course they've got plenty of quality all over the pitch, not least with the fantastic Kaka. Brazil is still the yardstick that every team has to measure up to for me, if England win the World Cup next year but don't get a chance to play the Brazilians, well no-one will care but I think there would be a fraction taken off the win. Brazil v England final? Would be splendid, guv'nor. Here's who I'd take if I had to pick the squad today:

James, Green, Robinson;
Terry, Ferdinand, A. Cole, Johnson, Upson, Brown;
Gerrard, Lampard, Barry, Beckham, Walcott, Milner, Carrick, Young, J.Cole;
Rooney, Defoe, Bent, Crouch.

So first 2 keepers are in and I'd take Robinson over Foster - far too many mistakes for my liking but he'll be there in 2012, 2014 etc. At the back first 4 pick themselves and I've added Upson for centre back and Brown can play there and right back. I suspect he'll bring one more than that (Bridge, Lescott) to cover the left side at the expense of Young/Walcott/Milner, but you can play Barry or Milner there quite easily for me. In the middle the first 4 are certainties (yes, I include Becks in there for sure), I'd take Walcott who can also go up top, Milner great versatile player who's impressed in a white shirt recently, Carrick as the standard ball playing replacement for Lampard, Young again is versatile and can go past people, and finally J.Cole as a little secret weapon. I've left of Wright-Phillips and Lennon there, I just think the options I've picked are slightly better - Shaun has done well in an England shirt and scored a few goals, I just think he lacks a bit of quality, and as for Lennon, he's had a great season so far but I think Walcott's danger in front of goal gives him an edge. Up front Rooney is really the only dead cert but Defoe is scoring plenty, Crouch is a handful for any defence and Bent is scoring as well. Carlton Cole, Agbonlahor, Heskey, Owen, these are all capable guys but with Capello probably only taking 4 strikers I think they'll miss out. He might bring Heskey because he obviously likes him with Rooney but I think Crouch is more than capable to play that role and also chip in a couple himself. Any late runs to the squad? Unlikely for me, there will always be injuries in the run up but I can't see any drastic changes to that, Hargreaves if he had a great 2nd half of the season? Gibbs if he wants a left back? That's all I can think of.

Yesterdays comments on Luke Young have raised a bigger debate on international retirement. I'll say right off the bat I don't like it. Fair enough if you're an ageing star who just can't keep up with all the extra games and travelling, and you've already done a mammoth stint for your country (Giggs springs to mind). But you look at someone like David Beckham who is bouncing back and forth over the Atlantic every few weeks, even just to get 10 mins off the bench for England. What about Jamie Carragher? With all of Terry and Rio's injury problems over the last few years he could have notched up a really decent number of caps, not to mention the long term concerns about Rio's back. If Rio doesn't make it to SAfrica and Jamie sees Matty Upson playing centre back against Spain in a World Cup semi, he'll be as sick as a parrot. Playing for you're country should be the pinnacle of the game. I understand the rise of club football and the Champions League is such that maybe that's not the case anymore. Stephen Ireland is another case in point. All that nonsense about his alleged dead grandmother caught the bastard right out. And now, with Ireland on the brink of getting to a World Cup he's nowhere to be seen. He's not too old, he's not got tons of caps already, there's no good reason why he shouldn't be involved in the Ireland team - plus he's actually a really good player! What annoys me the most though is players who retire from internationals, and then come back. No, un uh, no way, you can fuck off. Once you go, you should be gone for good. Francesco Totti wants to 'come out of international retierment' for the World Cup to help Italy win it. If I'm Luca Toni or I'm Antonio De Natale, I'll be telling Totti he can fuck off and die. I've put the time and hours in flying to fucking Bratislava on a freezing Wednesday last November, I've been kicked around the park by the Romanians, I've sat on the bench in Dublin when I could have been in sunny Rome, YOU don't get to come in at the end of the race and cross the finish line. Simple.

Finally, I see that Roman Pavlyuchenko wants to leave Spurs to ensure he is still in contention for Russia, presuming they qualify for the World Cup. Well, I can't see 'Arry having too many sleepless nights about that one, Daniel Levy on the other hand will be once again feeling like a fucking mug for having shelled out £14 million on Romeo, and he'll have to shunt him out for 5 or 6 to St. Petersburg or some shit. Another great bit of business from the Tottenham Hotspur money making machine. Take her easy.