England Archive

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UAE endurance team won the 160km Stars Challenge race

By
Emiratweet
– July 28, 2010
Another reason to be proud. Vice President...

Another reason to be proud. Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum yesterday won the endurance horserace, run in Euston Park in the United Kingdom. H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Deputy Ruler and UAE Finance Minister attended the race. H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, and Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The race, run for 160 kilometres and competed by 75 riders from different countries, was held in preparation for the World Endurance Championship, to be held in the United States in September. – Emirates News Agency, WAM

I am proud of the UAE endurance team who won yesterday’s 160 km Stars Challenge endurance race in England – His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

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Germany vs England

By
Omar Al-Duri
– June 28, 2010

England’s World cup dream ended today in the second round at Bloemfontein as Germany were just too strong and tactically spot on.Capello did show a sense of consistency naming the same side that was victorious against Slovenia.It did take two games to get into the rhythm but the Nation was confident and eager to start of well.Unfortunately it was anything but as it took while for them to settle and control the opening minutes.Germany deservedly led with goals from Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski after just half-an-hour, but just before the break Matthew Upson headed home to give England some hope.But moments after Upson’s header, in a grim echo of Geoff Hurst goal that helped England to victory over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final, Frank Lampard’s superb lofted finish landed feet over the line behind German keeper Manuel Neuer, an incident obvious to almost everyone inside the Free State Stadium.Replays almost instantly showed the ball was over a foot over the line, and England had been denied a clear goal.Fabio Capello celebrated in his dug out as his team talk was just about to change as England finally found thrie feet in what was an extremely slow start.Only to be stunned as Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda and his officials waved play on. England’s players and coaching team, including David Beckham, led vehement protests as the teams went off at half-time, but all to no avail and Germany made the most of their reprieve. The Germans will feel a measure of justice has been restored 44 years on, but this was of no consolation to the modern-day England as insult was added to injury by Joachim Loew’s gifted young side.After the break England pushed on and looked the more likely to score, but then with 20 minutes remaining, two devastating counter-attacks – both finished by Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller – sealed in the end a thoroughly deserved win for Germany.What had turned out to be an extremely good half of football in the first half for both nations turned into a one sided affair and the Germans who were the younger side played with much more maturity and discipline.

Mesut Ozil stole the show again today controlling the whole game as if he was directing a movie, showing signs of skill,intelligence and confidence to dismantle England.Steven Gerrard did excel as much as he could from the left sided position Capello insisted to play him in to accommodate Barry and the out of form Lampard and put in a captain performance in.However despite the controversy and the call for video technology England were the lowest scorers left in the competition prior to todays game and relied on their big stars who do perform like World Class players for their individual clubs but looked average on the World Stage.Players like Klose and Podolski had abismal campaigns with their club teams but have produced when the pressure was on for their country.One may argue what if Rio Ferdinand was fit?but did Rooney,Lampard,Barry,Heskey,Cole or lennon exist in this competition? Germany 4 England 1

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Things to Expect – England and Germany

By
Mohamed Harb
– June 26, 2010

The last time England and Germany met was in Italy 1990, and the match saw the Germans as winners and the eventual Champions of the World Cup ’90. One point of pride of the English at that time was that they lost against the champions and not any other team. This time around, whether it is pride or shame, war or beautiful game, controversy will be the eventual winners of the match.

First, Wayne Rooney will hold a Vuvuzela and blow it into the cameraman while heading into the dressing rooms, regardless of the match result and saying: “Nice to see me booing the home fans now, they can also “Youtube” it over and over again!”

Then comes Der Kaiser, Frantz Beckenbauer, and claims that “his” Germany was never a World Cup material since Ballack got injured before the tournament. He also adds that Kevin-Prince Boateng was his legitimate replacement but the department of immigration got mixed up and gave the citizenship to his younger brother Jérôme Boateng instead.

And when everyone is involved in the match action, John Terry will be gone missing. A “Yellow Tabloid” fellow countryman will publish the photos of JT with Victoria Beckham swapping Twitter account names while David Beckham stayed the full match on the bench acting as the manager of the English team.

Crossing the lines, the headlines will come in the shape of the English Goalkeeper. The World will be stunned when Dida, the ex-Brazilian international, will be in the English starting eleven. Don Fabio will justify the decision by a written special permit from Sepp Blatter allowing him to replace “Calamity” James.

Last but not least, the referee will disallow three goals for Miroslav Klose claiming that he should have scored them using his feet not his head. In addition, Thomas Müller will miss 10 easy chances and he will blame that on his parents because they should have called him Gerd instead of Thomas.

Note: The above is meant to be cynical and has no relation to reality

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England vs Slovenia

By
Omar Al-Duri
– June 24, 2010

Question marks over the Manager,the Captain and the Spirit of the England camp were the topic of many journalists and experts in the game.Having their own fans “boo”the nation off the field in a lacklustre performance against Algeria it was time to perform and fill the template set on the World stage.Capello made 3 changes with in mind that England required a win to qualify and not rely on the other result to influence their fate.Upson,Milner and Defoe stepped in to fill the boats with extreme pressure on their shoulders to make the nation proud.You could sense the tension watching the players line up during the national anthem with Slovenia looking very calm and composed as they were topping the group before the game.The England fans were louder than ever singing traditional England songs and really make their presence felt as the “12th man” got behind the team to fill Wayne Rooneys comments at the end of the Algeria game as he trounced of the pitch.On four minutes he chased a 40 yard ball and closed down the keeper in the aggressive fashion Premier League fans are used to.On 8 minutes Gareth Barry crunched Birsa in the middle of the field conceding a free kick but demonstrating the fight and passion England have been lacking in the opening two games.A response was on the cards from the opening minutes of the game from Capellos men displaying a sense of urgency , a willingness to close down the opposition and a number of slick passes across the field without conceding possession.Two of the players brought into the side combined for the crucial goal on 2 2minutes as James Milner delivered an excellent cross from the right and Jermain Defoe provided the finishing touch.Visibly, the pressure lifted from English shoulders.

The high-tempo, quick passing, tigerish pressing game Capello had yearned for was finally projected for the World to see and could of doubled their lead with Gerrard coming close on a few occasions.The Defence was solid being lead by the outspoken John Terry who demonstrated exactly why he leads by example on the pitch,throwing his body on the line on many occasions to prevent Slovenia from scoring.His determination and leadership was much required today and was definitely a candidate for man of the match alongside Steven Gerrard.Had first Terry, then Glen Johnson, not thrown themselves in front of Slovenian shots, the smallest country in the tournament would have had their equaliser and England would have been out.t was sumptuous fare lifted directly from the Premier League, the kind of football that prompted Capello to make his “crazy” claim that England could reach the final of this grand and prestigious tournament in Soccer City on 11th July.For Slovenia, events elsewhere would give them cause for huge regret. For England, pride was restored – and a sigh of relief could be breathed. England 1 Slovenia 0

p.s A big thanks to my client Sandra for being a good Sport.

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Algeria vs England

By
Omar Al-Duri
– June 19, 2010

“It’s nice to see your home fans booing you.” (Rooneys outburst to the cameras after the final whistle)
I honestly was left not only dejected but deflated as a football fan after watching the England Algeria game last night.Three Lions? anything but as the Roar and Bite of a lion is exactly what England were lacking.Tactics wrong,players playing at their best wrong and no hunger whatsoever to back up what was meant to be a good group to be in.Now many will have their say and are entitled to and i questioned leaving Adam Johnson,Owen Hargreaves,Scot Parker and Theo Walcott and it would of hurt them more to watch their nation perform so abysmally.All those attributes mentioned above is what those players could have injected into this squad in terms of creativity,determination,hunger and an element of unpredictability in which England lacked last night.From the Goalkeeper to Wayne Rooney it was very uncharacteristic of the well established European players that contribute to a wonderful league and an electric champions league.Algeria were organised flooding the midfield and playing with the one upfront but it worked and they looked more inventive and had the fire in their belly that England lacked.First half there was not much going on and quite frankly it wouldn’t have made a difference whether Robert Green was in Goal or not because David James had very little to do.The booing did echo mildly around the stadium as the England team needed a good talking to as they looked lethargic and out of ideas.When you look around at the players and the roles they play for their respective club i am still not convinced that Steven Gerrard should be compensated on the left to allow Lampard to play in the middle.Joe Cole had been ignored the whole night and in the opening game too against the USA.If Goals are the problem then why continue to play Heskey when Defoe has alot of energy that clearly England lack.What gets into Frank Lampard in games like this?A colossus for Chelsea, he seems to shrink when he puts on an England shirt. And all this against an Algerian side rated a modest 30th in the world.An Algeria playing their first World Cup since 1986 courtesy of beating Egypt in a play-off.An Algeria who had gone into the game on the back of a disastrous run in which they had lost five of their six warm-up matches.An Algeria who, in this spell, had conceded 12 goals and scored just one – a penalty in their only victory, a 1-0 win over UAE.The most animation came from Capello and Beckham who barked orders and showed their frustration on a number of occasions throughout the night.

Wayne Rooney has been spoken of in the same light as Ronaldo and Messi but one may worry for the Manchester United Star as his form in the Premier League was untouchable and made the united fans scream his name the way they were chanting Ronaldos name the seasons before.He looked exhausted and very low on confidence and for a player with that kind of ability mental strength has never been an obstacle as the potential boxer projected in many of his matches against the big clubs.I would personally make a few changes in this England team adding some real width and creativity by inserting Joe Cole on the left,withdrawing Lampard allowing gerrard to resume his regular services in the middle of the field and sit down with Rooney in i real one to one.Sometimes words arent even the solution so i would just leave him in a room with a DVD of his performances for Manchester united to remind him the Lion he is and the impact this World Cup deserves to have by him.All those players are there for a reason make it count or go home.There was something interesting on the sign on the wall at the Green Point Stadium entrance and that was “GO STRONG OR GO HOME” Algeria 0 England 0

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England vs USA

By
Omar Al-Duri
– June 13, 2010

England England England……

Well i write to you with an sigh as The stage was set and the off the field problems,injuries and Wags would have no influence and it was time to just play football.Gerrard was the Leader of the group as the Nations streets were empty and every Englishman and women were in doors watching the game.The talk in the tabloids and online polls are all about Robert Green and one must not dwell on mistakes ,yet when you are an international keeper you can turn from hero to zero in a second.”its my fault” said the keeper as the Rustenburg stadium was full with English fans.The players started with alot of energy and after just revealing his team two hours before Capellos methods were implemented.The anxiety was over and the players just wanted to go out there and represent the nations great expectation which they have every tournament.Steven Gerrard got England of to a flyer as he latched onto Emile Heskeys through pass where he took a touch to control and slotted in a neat finish passed the Everton Goal keeper Tim howard.Finally playing in his preffered role through the middle alongside Frank Lampard he really took the game by the neck.England continued to threaten throughout the half with a great displays from players such as Glen Johnson and Emile Heskey.You could see them grow in confidence as time went by thoughout the first half and what a big attribute to have when playing in a massive tournament.

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On 40 minutes a clanger of all clangers as Clint Dempseys hopeful strike with his left foot from outside the area seemed to skid of the surface at a very comfortable pace that a keeper should place his body behind the ball and parry.It slipped out of his hands and agonizingly rolled in the back of the net as Green crashed to his knees.Now all great keepers make mistakes and some on bigger stages than others yet it is how they bounce back and reflect.A test of character is the best response a coach or manager can ask for after a mistake like that.However,one may question whether Robert Green is worthy of being mentioned in the same category as David seaman who suffered  in the 2002 World cup against Ronaldinhos floated “Shross” or Gordan Banks in the 70s. My view is you have to wonder whether Capello took a risk in playing Green ahead of the experienced 39 year old David James or the inform English keeper of the year Joe Hart.Only time will tell and it is not up to Capello to either remain faith in keeper who must be low on confidence or revert to the other two.The game did feel like a defeat in many ways as once Milner was taken off Wright Phillips was brought on but in my opinion is too similar to Lennon and perhaps a certain Adam Johnson or Theo walcott would be sitting on holiday wondering why they are not in the current squad. Ledley King was injured and there have been many doubts in his fitness as his condition to rest and not join the squads training is unique.It isn’t the end of the World for England but should have been a game that was won comfortably.In my opinion Algeria are unpredictable and certainly will fight every minute to win the game and Slovenia are my dark horses to perhaps raise a few eyebrows in how tactical they can be. England 1 USA 1

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Special Update

By
Omar Al-Duri
– June 12, 2010

In all my years of writing I really felt that sometimes you don’t get the full extent of a situation until you are in it and today I am fulfilling that once again as I walk the streets of London the cars all have St George flags, an air of excitement! The children all wearing their heroes Rooney, Gerrard and Co, houses painted in the colours of red and white. Bus drivers smiling away at me and the customers that are coming onto the bus not minding to start work early as they haven’t felt  this much hope for winning the World cup since 1966 with the intelligence and understanding of  winning vital matches that Fabio Capello has emphasised wherever he has managed.

He has treated footballers like they were in a classroom banning music in the changing rooms and as Wayne Rooney relayed in his interview not letting one player from the 23man squad stand up of the table without the rest of the football team finishing their meal when having dinner. 44 years  and several disappointing exits with penalty shout outs, petulance from certain players and carelessness or unwillingness to take responsibility and win the game. I feel that England can progress and certainly have the players to do so especially under the watchful eye of Fabio Capello. He has kept his cards very close to him not revealing his team to the media, exploding and being infuriated when a camera man attempted to take a picture of Michael Dawson in the therapy room so he is taking responsibility and in a way the attention of his players by protecting them. I also feel that if played in the right position there is no player in the world that can take control of a game and is a natural born leader as Steven Gerrard and really believe he has the potential even at 30 to lead the nation to success. A quick message for all as i am reporting live from London i couldn’t help but be biased with a special update.

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