LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) — Despite his injury, world-fame soccer star David Beckham played with the Los Angeles Galaxy Thursday night in the 68th minute of its Major League Soccer game against the New York Red Bulls.
With Beckham’s presence, Galaxy, however, did not manage to win the game in Carson, outside Los Angeles. The game tied with 1-1. Beckham last played Aug. 29 when he suffered a right knee sprain in the Supe rLiga final against Pachuca of Mexico.
Beckham, 32, made his debut with the Galaxy July 21 amid one of the greatest promotional buildups in American sports history. However, an ankle injury sustained June 6 while playing for England in a Euro 2008 qualifying game against Estonia forced him to miss five of the next six games, creating fan disappointment and raising questions about the team’s credibility about its announcements about Beckham’s health.
Beckham had played six games with the Galaxy in various competitions before tonight, scoring one goal and assisting on three others. The Galaxy lost five of the six games.
Well, sorry guys if you followed any of my betting tips yesterday, Joe Cole didn’t score and England certainly didn’t win! Glad I hesitated on the latter bet and missed the good odds after England scored so didn’t end up betting! Phewie!
I did have a couple of punts on Joe Mole, Bazza (Gareth Barry) and Rio Snoop Dog (Ferdinand) to score, ridiculous odds so I spent £7 in total. I did redeem my £7 when I bet £30 to win £7.50 on another goal, which was looking unlikely with about 50 minutes gone, but then lost a £5 on a 4th goal - silly me, should know when you’re beaten!
Anyway, the real killer, and why i advise to go with your gut, I was joking around saying I was going to put £2 on Georgia to beat Scotland before the game started, then I got distracted looking for food in the kitchen, then sneaking a peak at last night’s episode of Neighbours and subsequently forgot to place the bet. Lets just say, I wasn’t best pleased to have missed out on £38 from my £2 bet.
ALWAYS GO WITH YOUR GUT, NEVER LET YOUR ‘GUT’ DISTRACT YOU THOUGH! BETTING COMES FIRST!
Well, how rubbish was last night’s poor defeat to Russia? I felt in the 2nd half the team just lost the plot. They couldn’t pass a ball to a team mate if their life depended on it, they couldn’t keep the ball and even though it may have bobbled around on the crappy plastic pitch, that’s no excuse for losing a 1-0 lead to the Russians! Speaking of Russians, it seemed the Big Roman (Abramovich) does know how to laugh and smile after all, shame he can’t do the same at Chelsea - there must be something to laugh at, I dunno, like Michael Ballacks pay slip seeing as he hasn’t played a competitive game since like forever?!
Anyway, back to England, what on earth was McClaren thinking bringing his subs on with about 12 minutes to go when everyone knows that the team with the advantage will time waste at least 8 of those last 12 minutes hanging around the corner or purposely putting the ball out of play. That man couldn’t manage a team of ladies bowls! (No offence meant to Ladies what play bowls) I know Frank is a magician whose lost his wand at the moment, so to speak, but even he can’t conjour something out of 12 minutes. What a poor show.
And don’t get me started on Rooney! Penalty, hard done by? Who are they trying to kid. It may have been close to the edge of the box but if Ronney will launch himself like a flying fox over a player he’s just clipped the heel of to try and hide that little misdemeaner, what does he expect? And as if anyone in the country believed Robinson was going to redeem himself and save the penalty. Oh, and Mr Robinson, if you are going to make a decent save in the game, make sure you don’t push the ball in the direction of a Russian player who is hovering about 4 foot away, even if he is surrounded by 2 england dingbat defenders.
I think to be a little bit fair, most of the players didn’t commit themselves in the game for fear of plastic carpet burns and jarred knees from the crappy pitch, fair dincum (Alf Stewart) but there was still no england magic to speak of in the 2nd half, only a few half chances that should have been taken had the Russians not hounded them for the last half an hour, how do you say - peppering the goal?
Anyway, so thats my little rant over for now, don’t think I’ll be booking my Euro 2008 hotel just yet!
Yours, angry as ever, no eggs here,
Reggy Mourinho
Oh, just one final thing, the Rooney goal was just fabby-dabby-dozy - the little flick on off the little head of little Owen, which Rooners caught on his chest and booted on the half volley was just ’sweet’!
Here’s my theme tune in case you’ve not heard it in a few days:
Oh, here is the BBC’s official match report from www.bbc.co.uk/sport
GERRARD RECKONS WE’RE DONE FOR
Steven Gerrard concedes that England are unlikely to qualify for Euro 2008 after Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat by Russia. England need to beat Croatia and hope Russia fail to defeat either Israel or Andorra to qualify for next summer’s tournament in Austria and Switzerland.
“It is looking doubtful,” said the Liverpool midfielder. “We will see it out until the end and, hopefully, Israel can do us a favour.”
“It’s out of hands so we have to hope and pray,” said striker Wayne Rooney. “Of course it’s difficult. We have to hope Israel can help us out and then hopefully win against Croatia.”
The defeat has intensified the pressure on England boss Steve McClaren, who faces the prospect of being the first manager to fail to lead England to the finals of a major tournament since Graham Taylor in 1994. And Taylor told BBC 5Live: “If Steve does go he’ll be the sixth England manager to go in the last 17 years, compared with four in the previous 28 years. “Changing the manager is not necessarily the answer. What we have to look at is our record in international football over so many years. It’s poor.” He added: “I thought it was a great game, fantastic atmosphere but the wrong result.
“Russia were first class. What they play is a short passing and very swift game. “We do not play that at international level. That’s not in our culture. We’ve got to look much deeper at what we expect properly and rightly expect from our national side. “If you look over the years we have not been successful. There is something deeper than just the manager.”
Gerrard was the stand-in captain against Russia because of central defender John Terry’s absence with a knee injury. “We had some chances to finish it or get it back but it didn’t really go our way” said England defender Sol Campbell.
“It’s a very shellshocked dressing room,” added Gerrard. “The players are hurting and down. “We need to take it on the chin, take responsibility for where we are and try to win our last game.”
Rooney put England ahead on the artificial surface of the Luzhniki Stadium but it was his challenge that led to Russia’s equaliser from the penalty spot. “It was a good goal but we are all devastated at the final result,” he said. “We all worked hard and defended well but two lapses in concentration cost us the game. “A few people have said the challenge was outside the area but that is irrelevant now, the referee has given the penalty.”
Right-back Micah Richards failed to get a touch at the far post as he failed to take a chance with centre-back Sol Campbell also heading high as England let another opening go begging. Campbell was one of the team’s best performers and he said: “We had some chances to finish it or get it back but it didn’t really go our way. “It’s not a happy dressing room because we let ourselves down a little bit.”
England keeper Paul Robinson has faced doubts over his form in the last few months and he could only parry Alexei Berezutsky’s shot and allow Roman Pavluchenko to stab in the winner. “I just parried it and maybe didn’t get enough on it,” he said. “I was unlucky not to get the second one.” He added: “We’ve got to pick ourselves up and deal with what we are left with. It seems like a kick in the teeth. It’s difficult to take.”
Well, my money’s on Joe Mole (Cole) to score tonight! I think he’s got goals in him and since he just missed a cracker in the last game, I reckon he’s due one tonight!
Also I have to believe in England in that they can win this one tonight, even if they don’t play well, they simply have to win. Won’t be putting much on though, maybe just a tenner!
I hope Michael Owen’s injury prone bod can handle tonight, they say plastic ain’t always a man’s best friend!
I posted a report last night that said John Terry will be fit to play for England tonight against Russia, well I heard it on GMTV this morning that in fact his knee ‘locked’ in training last night and in fact he won’t be playing at all! Oh dear!
MOSCOW: England captain John Terry will play in Wednesday’s Group E European championship qualifier against Russia after declaring himself fit on Tuesday.
Terry, who missed England’s 3-0 win over Estonia at Wembley last Saturday with a knee problem, told a news conference, “I am fully fit but I will have to have an operation in the near future to remove a bit of floating bone.”
“It’s not a huge op and I’ll only be out for two or three days. I won’t need any real surgery.”
England coach Steve McClaren, whose team will qualify for next year’s finals in Switzerland and Austria if they beat Russia, said the Chelsea defender would play.
“If John Terry says he is fit then he is fit. I trust him. He is my captain and if he’s fit he plays,” McClaren said.
Terry, who was replaced by Sol Campbell in central defence on Saturday, said he had felt the problem while training last week.
“My knee locked up, a bit of bone came away and the knee flared and swelled up,” Terry said but added it had improved with treatment over the last few days.
The captain added he no longer had to use the mask he has been wearing in recent matches to protect a depressed fracture of the cheekbone he suffered in a Premier League match against Fulham on September 29.
Five points behind second-placed England but with a game in hand, Russia will be hungry for victory in Wednesday’s game (kickoff 1500 GMT). A draw would qualify group leaders Croatia and stack the odds against the Russians.
McClaren said, “I am delighted to be in this position where it is all on Russia to have to win the game.
“We expect them to come storming at us for the first 20 minutes or so and we are determined to defend it right and to keep a clean sheet.
“You do not qualify for major tournaments in March or April, you qualify over the last few games in October or November and I always thought it would come down to this.
“It will be a very big test for everybody but I am confident we have the players to go out and complete the job.”
Rooney (right) ended his England goal drought at last. Wayne Rooney scored his first competitive international goal since 2004 as England eased past Estonia in their Euro 2008 qualifier at Wembley.
Shaun Wright-Phillips set England on their way when his shot from the right went through keeper Mart Poom’s legs. Rooney almost ended his goal drought with an exquisite chip before netting with a deflected shot from 15 yards. Taavi Rahn headed an own goal from 20 yards just before half-time but England failed to score in the second half.
It was a comfortable win for Steve McClaren’s men, who can now qualify for next summer’s tournament in Austria and Switzerland if they beat Russia on Wednesday. Once again, Gareth Barry produced a solid performance in midfield after being preferred to Frank Lampard and McClaren will be delighted that Rooney was able to add his name to the scoresheet.
And with England three goals up at half-time, McClaren chose to exercise caution ahead of the trip to Moscow by taking off Rio Ferdinand, who would have missed the game had he picked up a booking.
However, Ashley Cole, who was also on a yellow card but came out for the second half, may not face Russia after he was carried off just a couple of minutes after the restart. The Chelsea left-back fell awkwardly after he and substitute Joleon Lescott, on for Ferdinand, clumsily dealt with a rare Estonia attack.
Before that it had been plain sailing for England, who got the start they wanted when Wright-Phillips’ shot squirmed past Poom after only 11 minutes. And centre-back Sol Campbell, winning his 70th cap because of skipper John Terry’s injury, could hardly have had an easier match in which to make his international comeback after a 16-month absence. By contrast, Estonia’s defence looked extremely vulnerable, with Rooney and Joe Cole particularly dangerous.
And the two combined for England’s second when Cole’s cross from the left was stepped over by Michael Owen and Rooney struck the ball into the bottom corner via a deflection. There was considerably more Estonian involvement in England’s third goal a minute later when Rahn spectacularly headed past his own keeper from outside the penalty area as he tried to cut out Ashley Cole’s cross.
England’s rhythm faltered after the interval and Estonia managed to test goalkeeper Paul Robinson with a couple of efforts. The Tottenham keeper, whose place in the starting line-up had been the subject of much debate amid shaky club form, fumbled a drive by Ragnar Klavan but collected the ball at the second attempt.
For a 10-minute spell, Estonia threatened to come into the game but never really looked capable of producing a serious fightback. Yet England appeared unable or unwilling - perhaps with a eye on Wednesday’s crucial match - to step through the gears and make their superiority tell.
Steven Gerrard had a free-kick easily saved and Owen struggled a little with the offside trap, while Joe Cole dribbled down the flank without an end product.
Owen made way for Lampard, who was unfairly booed by the crowd as he stepped on to the Wembley turf, and England seemed satisfied with their third successive 3-0 win. Gerrard and Joe Cole wasted a golden chance to score a fourth when they found themselves two-on-one against the Estonia defence but made a complete hash of it.
Shortly after that Joe Cole failed to make amends when he dragged a shot wide.
——————————————————————————–
England: Robinson, Richards, Campbell, Ferdinand (Lescott 46), Ashley Cole (Neville 49), Wright-Phillips, Gerrard, Barry, Joe Cole, Rooney, Owen (Lampard 70).
Subs Not Used: James, Bentley, Crouch, Defoe.
I got this snippet from the www.bbc.co.uk/sport yesterday, Terry and Lampard are the heart of Chelsea, how can anyone possibly think of selling Frank, or Drogba for that matter - they only scored the most goals for chelsea last season, you know, nothing too major! What a joke!
TRANSFER GOSS:
Chelsea are concerned Frank Lampard could be a disruptive influence following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho and are prepared to sell the midfielder, with Real Madrid lining up a £9m bid when the transfer window opens in January. Didier Drogba could also leave following Mourinho’s exit. (Daily Mirror)
New Chelsea boss Avram Grant wants to buy Brazilian Kaka from AC Milan even if he costs £100m. (Daily Express)
Man City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson will try to sign Jens Lehmann from Arsenal for £1m in the January transfer window. (The Sun)
Eriksson, meanwhile, will be able to buy Peter Crouch for £8m from Liverpool in the January transfer window. (Daily Mail)
Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack insists that he is happy at the club and wants to sees out the remaining two years of his contract. (The Sun)
Javier Mascherano has attempted to end speculation over his future by declaring he wants to sign a long-term deal with Liverpool. (The Sun)
Leicester boss Gary Megson wants to sign Collins John from Fulham on loan. (Various)
Sunderland have decided against signing former Manchester City midfielder Kiki Musampa after a trial at the club. (The Independent)
- Reggy Mourinho
