Sir Alex Ferguson has called for more red cards to curb the growing problem of two-footed tackles, even if it means referees apologising for their mistakes the following day.
The Manchester United manager will begin a two-match touchline ban later this month after the Football Association punished him for a furious rant at Mark Clattenburg during his side's recent defeat at Bolton.Ferguson felt Clattenburg had not acted strongly enough as he dealt with Kevin Davies' late tackle on Patrice Evra. Since then, the United chief has watched on as the rows over two-footed challenges continue to grow.Liverpool's Peter Crouch was the latest player dismissed for a wild attack on Mikel Jon Obi at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, although 24 hours earlier, Steed Malbranque escaped a red card for an equally poor challenge on Vedran Corluka during Tottenham's Carling Cup win over Manchester City, even though referee Steve Bennett had sent off Didier Zokora for a less malicious tackle on Elano.

Ferguson feels referees are too quick to view a yellow card as an escape clause, which only heightens the problem as the FA have no powers to turn a yellow card into a red by the use of video evidence.However, they can rescind a red card, which has led Ferguson to reach a rather quirky conclusion."We have hit a problem this season with these tackles," he said. "Eventually, someone will be put out of the game and that player will end up suing the other one, which doesn't do the game any good."I honestly believe the directive from (referees' boss) Keith Hackett about two-footed tackles has to be stronger because, as long as the referees have the yellow card option, they have an escape clause."It is easy to err on the side of caution but this problem needs sorting out. Even if it was one of my own players, I would prefer the referee to give a red. At least then he can look at it the following morning and rescind it if he feels the decision was wrong." Ferguson is still bemused by Clattenburg's refusal to dismiss Davies and is more confused given he has now been told the official, who did not send Dirk Kuyt off for an awful tackle on Phil Neville during this season's Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, went to Newcastle during pre-season and warned them of the stark consequences facing players who jump into tackles.

"Some of the players told me he had gone up to Newcastle before the season with video clips and said 'this will be a red card'. But he hasn't given one for a two-footed tackle yet even though there have been at least two occasions when it has happened in his games," he said."It is difficult. Sometimes a player can win the ball and carry through because the impetus of his challenge is so strong."But when they start to go above the centre of the ball, you have to think it is dangerous. If the ball is on the ground then it is harder, but that is where good refereeing comes into it."Ferguson admitted he is still trying to convince himself of the merits of his argument, although he is more certain that tackles of such an extreme nature should warrant more than a three-match ban.He still refers back to the video evidence which saw Wayne Rooney banned for three matches for effectively pushing Tal Ben-Haim in the face during a festive duel with Bolton at Old Trafford three years ago.

And he cannot see how that incident is equal in severity to the potential leg-breakers that seem to be so commonplace just now. "Is three matches enough for these kind of tackles?" he said. "Wayne Rooney got three games for slapping Tal Ben-Haim in the face a couple of years ago. It is crazy."The problem is that FIFA can dominate that particular field in terms of what the length of the ban is and what constitutes violent conduct, so we are in their grasp."But I also am sure they must also feel it needs stopping too for the best principles of the game."

Just about any fantasy team that's had any sort of success this season has had either Tony Romo or Tom Brady as their quarterback. Both have had outstanding seasons that few expected; in our own league, one guy has Brady and Randy Moss. He has been dominating all season. Until yesterday. Yes, this was the traditional first week of fantasy football playoffs, and it ended up screwing a ton of people who have rode Romo and Brady to dominant regular seasons. Romo threw three interceptions, and Brady suffered from Bill Belichick's perverse decision to run the ball on, of all days, yesterday. So we're betting there were tons of fantasy upsets yesterday. Perhaps we blame it all on Jessica Simpson.

Frank Lampard has given his backing to Fabio Capello as England's new manager as the Italian prepares for talks with Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick.Although former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho's decision to withdraw from the running was expected to have disappointed the Stamford Bridge international contingent, Lampard said: "Fabio Capello has shown what he can do by winning titles at all levels of football and would be a very good choice.
"He has proved himself a winner with success everywhere he's been. I honestly don't know who is going to be the new England manager but Capello is certainly the kind of personality that would be good for England."Former AC Milan, Juventus, Roma and Real Madrid coach Capello, 61, has emerged as the outstanding favourite to succeed Steve McClaren after Mourinho made it clear earlier this week that he did not want the position and would seek another top job in club football.But there has been no reaction so far from England captain John Terry who kept his own counsel on the matter after Chelsea's goalless draw against Valencia in the Champions League last night.

But another former Chelsea favourite Gianfranco Zola, who is being tipped as a likely England assistant to his compatriot if, as expected, Capello gets the nod, has said: "I think he possesses the ideal pedigree to create a new era of success for England."Even when Jose Mourinho was in the running I believed that Capello had even more charisma, talent and experience for a challenging job like this one."

Tottenham captain Robbie Keane has lost his appeal against the red card he received for serious foul play in the Barclays Premier League defeat to Birmingham.The striker, 27, will now serve a three-match domestic suspension as a result of the dismissal for a challenge on Blues' Fabrice Muamba as Spurs crashed to a 3-2 defeat courtesy of an injury-time wonder goal from Sebastian Larsson on Sunday. Tottenham had argued the decision was harsh and that referee Phil Dowd had consulted with the fourth official before producing the red card.Keane will miss Premier League games against Manchester City and Portsmouth and a Carling Cup quarter-final against the former side.Meanwhile, Spurs have been boosted by the return of Ledley King for tonight's reserve team clash with Fulham.King has been out of action since the win over Manchester City earlier this season with persistent knee problems.

Shortly before the start of this tour, Duncan Fletcher's book was published and included some negative comments about me.Unfortunately, I would have to say that spin was not his speciality.Duncan is a batting coach and I think he found it challenging to understand spin bowling.All the players he's done well with are batsmen.He hasn't done well with a spinner, has he? I can understand that, because batting was his thing. Spin wasn't.He was quite strong on the over-the-wicket approach because he worked with Ashley Giles.But who else has he worked with as a spinner? I have to say that he taught me a few things about bowling over the wicket — about angles and stuff like that, which kind of made sense. But his strength was coaching batsmen.

Panesar reckons Fletcher was better with the batsmen
In the book it says I joined England without an arm ball, but Nick Cook, who coached me at Northants, taught me a lovely arm ball and I've still got that, as you saw in the series against the West Indies during the summer.Some of my dismissals tended to be from balls that slid on.Like I said, spin was not Duncan's department.I'm not someone who looks at individual records too much, but I have already taken six five-fors in Test cricket.I didn't like the suggestion in the book that Northants haven't really helped much.I have been there for a long time and I've worked with various coaches there.They should get credit for that and shouldn't be undermined or underestimated.

I think Duncan could have shown a bit more thought before saying: 'Northants haven't done this or haven't done that.'I wouldn't be here playing for England without them, simple as that.They must be doing something right.Since arriving here, Peter Moores has said that I am the team's No 1 spinner in Test cricket and it is great to have the backing of the coach.He is a wicketkeeper, which really helps because he can see things that you don't.He also really understands spin.People may think there is extra pressure on me going into this series as a spinner up against Muttiah Muralitharan, but that's not how I see it.

How can I be a rival to him? How can the student be a rival to the teacher? The student cannot become the master, there is only one master and we all know who he is.I'm just a servant! Murali is incredible.In some ways I feel fortunate that — even though it will be against us — I will be there to witness it when he breaks the world record for Test wickets.He is so successful because he has so many different ways to attack a batsman.He knows how to bowl with different degrees of turn, bowl different angles and use all the tricks of a spinner.He has the whole package.Murali definitely turns the ball more than anyone I have ever seen.It is amazing what he has done for cricket and for spin bowling — both he and Shane Warne.They are the reason why the rest of us spinners get a bit of a mention. I have to thank those boys — before they came along, no one cared what spinners did. Sri Lanka have some seriously good attacking batsmen and, you never know, they could teach me a lesson here. It's going to be tough.In their own country, I'm sure they will look to dominate the opposition spinner, but I see that as an exciting challenge.Someone like Sanath Jayasuriya is capable of the same sort of assault that Adam Gilchrist hit me with in Perth last winter.He has all the shots and the confidence to go after me.But I believe I have more to fall back on now — different angles, different pace, different field settings and more experience.I'd like to think I'm better equipped to cope now compared to a year ago when Gilchrist went after me.David Parsons, England's spin coach, wasn't really involved then and he has been a great help to me — working on the thinking side of spin bowling as well as on the technical stuff.

An 18-year-old high school senior named David Bingham who currently tends goal for California High, is scrambling to finish his first semester classes so he can go to Italy in the next few weeks, where he’ll join Serie A side Calgiari on a multi-year contract. Wha?Bingham, who is passing up full scholarship offers from 14 Division I schools to take this chance, first impressed the Italian club over the summer, when they saw him playing with his club team at a tournament on the east coast. He went to Italy shortly thereafter on a two week trial, they did some long-distance chatting, and now both parties are set to make the move permanent.

The kid’s been told that he’ll immediately start training with the first team, and likely will play with the primavera side, at least at first. Not lacking for confidence, though, Bingham has plans to make his Serie A debut sometimes in the second half. You go, David.

If he expects to be thrown right in there, he’s probably in the right place: Cagliari are the worst team in Serie A, with a dismal goal difference. They’re already on their second manager and are look awfully likely to go down, so god only knows what madness they might try to when things get really desperate come February and March. I wonder, can Bingham play striker? Because, now that David Suazo has run off to Inter, they really need one of those.

The fans expected great things of the all-American boy at the start of his tennis career, though the experts always had doubts. But there's nothing he likes more than representing his country - so Russia beware! When most of the elite players are having a rest after a long season and making arrangements for Christmas, American star Andy Roddick is deep into his tennis as if the campaign has only just begun.This coming weekend, Roddick, together with team-mates James Blake and the Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, will be the busiest players around when they take on the Russians in the Davis Cup Final in Oregon.

Davis Cup for some players is a weird event. Big players with big egos are used to playing for themselves only during the year, and suddenly they have to put all their personal interests aside and concentrate on playing for their country.For Roddick, at least this one time and at this particular event, every win will feel like the best and most important victory ever. Roddick is a patriot. He likes to play for his national flag. He likes the atmosphere, the crowd, the feeling that he has more than his coach and family in his corner - a whole nation hungry for success, in fact.
In the twilight of Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi's careers, all fingers where pointing at Roddick as the leader of a new generation of American tennis stars. That never happened. Roddick was able to deliver some of the promise when he won his first and only Grand Slam at home in 2003, but he never quite stood up to the expectations of his fans - and especially the nation.

Objective tennis experts knew from day one that Roddick was no Sampras or Agassi. They saw a player with mediocre talent but loads of will, ambition and fighting spirit, though not a star like many others predicted him to be.Roddick is a decent player with a huge serve and nothing much more – and his results to this day tell the whole story. Coaches like Brad Gilbert and Jimmy Connors helped his game immensely, but even they couldn't turn him into something he wasn't capable of being.Davis Cup might just change Roddick's luck. He needs another big title under his belt after four years of disappointments, especially on the big occasions.Davis Cup in not another Grand Slam, but it is as close as it gets to it. Roddick needs to feel he is part of such a big occasion to maybe finally raise his game to the next level, and become what a whole nation expected of him.

If all this Liverpool feuding is over a £4m AC Milan defender, then the Americans should just hand over the money and let the boss get on with winning the title.OK, hold on one minute – whilst I realise that the storm in a tea cup between Rafa Benitez and the Americans (and Rick Parry) has been exacerbated by the media, I am beginning to worry that in a matter of weeks our beloved boss may actually be sacked. This can not be allowed to happen!I understand that Messrs Gillett and Hicks have given the Spaniard a wealth of cash over the summer and that extra funds will not be so easily splashed out come January, but come on lads – stand together and don’t fall out otherwise all the hard work put in over the past few years will be undone. By the way, anyone harbouring hopes of getting Jose Mourinho in through the back door, please don’t make me laugh, I hold Rafa in a higher regard than the former Chelsea boss and I for one will not be happy with any appointment that sees the Champions League-winning manager axed.

The argument seems to stem from the planned signing of AC Milan defender Kakha Kaladze, a deal that was said to cost around £4m, which in today’s terms is a bargain, especially when you see how thin we are at the back at present with Daniel Agger out. I can understand the Americans not wanting to become a bottomless pit to fund transfers and whilst Benitez did spend big in the summer he did also get around £25m back from the departures of Djibril Cisse, Craig Bellamy and Mark Gonzalez, so it's not like Rafa has spent wildly. Surely another £4m wouldn’t break the bank and, given that we are still unbeaten in the league, you would have thought that this signing would have been accepted.This row needs to die away and all the parties need to stick together. After all, they all want the same thing – a successful Liverpool side.Back to the playing side and I was pleased with the performance against Newcastle, and especially with Momo Sissoko who started shakily with a few misplaced passes but came back with a vengeance and played really well. Steven Gerrard also silenced the boo boys the best way possible, with an unstoppable long range free-kick. All in all a good performance against a very poor Toon side, which combined with results that almost all went our way, has kept us in touch the with leaders.I think that barring a couple of stodgy performances this season we have done very well and have a strong squad that needs a little tweaking, nothing more, and I think that was all that Rafa wanted to do, so please Mr Gillett and Mr Hicks, be patient. If Benitez shows his anger and irritation so vocally he only does so because he clearly loves the club and no one should be sacked for that surely!

With competition for places hotting up and Yuvraj Singh in great touch, it's time for the best captain India has produced to go out in the manner his great career deserves.
Sourav Ganguly boasts a Test win record of 50-plus, an enviable ODI record, and credit for making Team India a team, not just a bunch of 15 players, 10 of whom were unknown faces. And with Test victories against all cricketing nations, he deserves unlimited praise.A year ago he was thrown out in disgrace and coming back was difficult since the chairman of selectors had almost closed the doors by saying the board were looking for the future (whatever that means). But when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Our men fought back and Ganguly has stood out on almost on every tour abroad.Of late there has been one issue, the absence of Yuvraj Singh from the Test side. The only person he can replace is Ganguly. No other batsman is dispensable and when a guy like Yuvraj is warming the bench, you can’t afford to lose a single opportunity in the middle. Yuvraj is the man in supreme form at the moment and for the first time in his career he is doing justice to his immense talent.

Ganguly is playing well but Yuvraj has to get the nod for the simple reason that he adds more utility to the team. Don’t get me wrong, with all due respect to Dada, I would definitely not have said this if Yuvraj could replace anyone else in the team. Dada is the epitome of success and he should go leaving a legacy.Unfortunately this seldom happens in India. Here, even greats like Kapil Dev were shown the door in disgrace because they did not retire at the time they should have. The likes of Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid should have a send-off to match their iconic status. Ganguly should call it a day because now he is playing well. A senior journalist said once that for a cricketer to understand that he had enjoyed a great career will be when people ask him why he retired. That’s all I am asking Dada to do.

The big bucks are in the Premier League and with the big four seemingly invincible, a European League does not look far away. Come to think of it, why not go for a World League? Top businessmen are buying English football clubs. New millionaire owners, new mega-money stadia, TV coverage every day, it's all is looking very rosy. But for whom? Let's have a look at what could happen and how it could affect our national sport.What about a British League? We all know that Celtic and Rangers would hold there own in the Premier League and their fan base would be massive. Maybe Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs too - if not the top flight, then a good shout for second tier. But would any Irish or Welsh clubs get into the top two divisions?

Oh I forgot, you can't have that (well, you can), but you lose the right to have individual countries for the World Cup and European Championships (which none of our teams qualified for) and you would have fewer teams getting into Europe each season.You would only need one organisation running the game, so one committee of freeloaders (sorry the headless blokes in suits who make all the decisions, but whom you never see) instead of four or five committees. Now that sounds better, fewer people making decisions and getting well paid for what they do. What do they do? Makes you wonder, because no-one seems to take any blame when things go wrong.A European League would also get some money in - sod the little games, let's only have major ones every week. Both the Milans, Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Celtic, Rangers and a few others. I'm sure the club owners would be happy with that. Now we are talking money!

With cheap flights, fans seem to be happy going to Champions League games, even if they are against 'lesser' opposition. But teams from Luxembourg and Andorra cannot fill our stadia when they play. And how would the likes of Tottenham, Newcastle, Villa, Everton and the others feel about being left behind? We've already heard that the Super Six have spoken about a breakaway. So they are talking and the thought must be there.What about a World League? Eighteen of the world's top teams playing once every two weeks. Now that would be a great money spinner, particularly for the Americans whose mega-bucks businessmen seem to be investing in our clubs.They would have to have a team or two in the World League. China and Japan both seem to have major importance, too, with our clubs' investment in superstores and pre-season friendly tours. The South American countries have the teams, support and players, but their financial situation has always been a problem. If this did happen, there are major money men out there who could buy a top team to get in that country.There would be no away supporters as all games could be televised and games could be broadcast to the opposition team's home ground. I'm sure the British teams would sell 40,000 tickets just to watch on big screens in their own stadiums. And then there is the revenue from programmes, drinks and food. You could put a reserve game on before, as well.

The England players are high on ego mediocre in talent, so let's put the Euro 2008 disaster behind us and bring in the youngsters.''What happened?'', I hear you ask. Well, I’ll tell you. We got nothing less than we deserved, and not even a red-faced, balding individual as charismatic as a Dyson could redeem us.At a glance it appears like a bomb went off and we’re all picking ourselves up from the fallout - but my argument is that this simply is not the case. Granted, look anywhere now and you’ll see a frantic media looking for where to plunge the knife. The first port of call has been, of course, Steve McClaren. Fair enough, he wasn't what I perceive as material for the job and certainly wasn’t the FA’s first choice so one cannot be too surprised to see he failed to deliver.So he’s gone now, but who next to blame? Foreigners! Yes, if it wasn’t for all those overseas players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Claude Makelele et al, then we would not be in this situation of profound disappointment. What’s that I hear you say? Well, if you are a fan of a team like Arsenal (only because of their surplus of migrants - not because of some silly notion like Arsenal fans are more intelligent) or indeed, anyone reasonable and open-minded enough to scoff at the ridiculous nature of these allegations, you will brush this argument aside quickly enough.

Yes, fans of rival teams might jump on the bandwagon, fuelled by their desire to slate the aforementioned side. But realistically, it is fair to say that the consensus that foreign players are affecting the development of indigenous talent is wide of the mark. The best players will always make it, but as Harry Redknapp so aptly put it, the problem it seems is that “football cannot compete with an X box”.Perhaps it’s true but I don’t believe it. If you look at the squad of the last four or so years, you cannot travel far without hearing that dreaded phrase - “The Golden Generation”. This has shrouded our players from reality, the over-hyping tendencies of the British media have blinded us to common sense.

Let me take you back to that point earlier on foreigners. Without Ronaldo and Makelele, I genuinely believe things would have been different. Think about it, would Wayne Rooney look so good without Ronnie or would Frank Lampard have been such a decent goalscorer over the last few seasons without Claude faithfully, excellently and silently freeing him of defensive duties?
Ironically, the bigots in the media have got it right, but for all the wrong reasons; our English players have been made to look better amongst a glut of technically superior imports. Imports who think quicker and are more tactically-minded.Look at some of the great players of the past ten years: Zidane, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Figo, Seedorf, the list is endless - but how many Brits constitute being mentioned? Any? David Beckham could qualify and it would be fair to include the likes of David Platt and Paul Gascoigne, but those aside how many English players today would you put alongside these guys?

It could be argued that with this Golden Generation term being coined, a lot of these players started to believe they really were. Arsene Wenger pointed out how since ’66 England haven’t won anything, and how many migrant footballers did you see muddying our side of the pond in ’94? As a nation, the sooner we come to realise that our players are mediocre, the better - they are the product of a failing academy system that needs to be centralised by the FA. The plans had been in place to do exactly that at Burton-on-Trent until the Wembley fiasco caused them to run out of funding so it’s strange not more people have picked up on it.It’s time we took the spotlight off our national team. There's no escaping it - we’re crap. We have to dig deep, take a long look at our team, make some brave changes and start afresh. The likes of Aston Villa's Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor, Theo Walcott of Arsenal and Blackburn's David Bentley should be given their chance and should be given it now.We will no doubt drop outside the FIFA seedings for the World Cup and will probably face some of the best nations come the 2010 qualifiers. So these boys need to get used to International football before any important matches come up.

Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United and Milan have what no England manager can call on ... true world-class talent like Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.
Frank Rijkaard has Lionel Messi, Arsene Wenger has Cesc Fabregas, Sir Alex Ferguson's got Cristiano Ronaldo, and Carlo Ancelotti has Kaka. All players for whom the term talisman was coined, players who have the ability to capture the imagination of the crowd and to win matches on their own.
Now I have just mentioned one player from the teams in question, but the youngsters from Arsenal alone are a frightening lot to watch when it comes to skill level and natural talent. They will think three moves ahead of the opposition and have absolute belief that the only way anyone is going to beat them is if they make a mistake. They do not for a minute succumb to the thought that they are inferior to their opponents. Same, too, at Manchester United where Fergie has put together another wonderful collection of players of dazzling ability.

The question then becomes: if you were Arsene Wenger or the former favourite Luiz Felipe Scolari would you take the England job? The money aside, do you believe you can win matches the way you want with the current England crop? In short, putting Steve McClaren's very apparent failings aside, do England have the players, the world-beaters that papers like The Sun would have us believe?

I am tempted to say that there is no world-class player in the England set-up. The press say there is, but show me anyone who can do the job Fabregas does for Arsenal and Spain. Some will mention Steven Gerrard and perhaps Wayne Rooney, but while I can pick out the matches where they have been anonymous at best, I am not sure anyone can remember the last time the young Spaniard had a stinker.

Now, of course, one could easily fix that if you are a club coach. Britain might not be happy with Zimbabwe right now, but the newspapers will wax lyrical about the exploits of Benjani Mwaruwari, the Premier League's current top goalscorer. While he is not necessarily a trailblazer in the grand scheme of things, that is an example of a solution that was best served by importing talent. Unfortunately for national teams, a player has to have a birth certificate that says Made in England. That basically means the choices are limited and solutions are a lot harder.

The truth of the matter is that the only way that England are going to be worth anything is if they stop thinking that they are Brazil. We can't play like Brazil and we never will. We celebrate one player per generation who comes close and go to town on one brilliant performance. Brazil, on the other hand, do that every day because they have the players.

Some will argue that a good manager will work magic, given the resources he has at his disposal but that is tantamount to saying that one would prefer cooking in some back-street eatery because it is likely to showcase their resourcefulness more, rather than work in a plush restaurant.

The Anfield skipper's limitations as a leader were exposed once again as England lost to Croatia - and he failed to provide the motivation his teammates so desperately needed on the night.
Steven Gerrard’s abject ability as a captain was exposed once again as England suffered ignominious defeat against Croatia.I’ve said it once and I will say it again: Gerrard is not a leader. He does not have the strength of character, the fighting mentality or motivational power to be an effective captain and this has been proven time and time again for club and country.
England were wretched in every respect, and the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ were exposed for what they really are - limited, technically inept prima donnas, drunk on their own hype, whose competitive edge and work ethic has been dulled by rampant egos and shameful avarice.
For once, Alan Hansen had the guts to tell it like it is when he said: ‘'I can't believe how poor Steven Gerrard was'’. Gerrard has been poor for England for a long time, but his international failings have been glossed over by the fawning media and the blind faith brigade who refuse to accept the truth.Yes – I said Gerrard is NOT world class. The media hype him and every other English player with a smidgen of talent as ‘world class’ but the evidence does not support this hollow assertion. If Gerrard IS world class, where is the proof?
I can already guess the response from the ‘Gerrard can do no wrong’ club: But what about that goal he scored against Olympiakos? What about Istanbul? What about the FA Cup Final? But Alex Ferguson said so! These things do not make a player world-class. Gerrard is an excellent Premier League player – a true example of a typical English midfielder: Lots of huffing, puffing, tackling and endless stamina but precious little skill, creativity, footballing intelligence or consistent technical ability.

Truly world-class players deliver not only in their domestic league but on the international stage as well. Any player who does not deliver in the big tournaments cannot be considered world class. There are, of course, exceptions to this, such as George Best, who never got to play in a major tournament. But players like him are a special case. The whole idea of ‘world-class ability’ needs to be redefined, and in my view, achievement on the international stage should be the main criterion.Gerrard has been a consistent failure on the international stage, and his impact on England has been less than negligible. In Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006, the hype about Gerrard was sickening. Did he deliver? Of course not. But someone else is always to blame for Gerrard’s failings. It’s the manager’s incompetence; it’s failing to play him in the centre; it’s Frank Lampard restricting him; the system was wrong for him and blah blah blah. No – Gerrard, like his overpaid pals, is just not good enough on the world stage.The likes of Zidane, Ronaldinho, Maradona, Cruyff, Platini, Beckenbauer, Puskas, Eusebio, Pele etc all consistently delivered on the world stage – that is why they can justifiably be labelled world class. Gerrard does not deserve to be named in the same sentence as the true legends of the game, and to even think that he is on a par with the true world-class greats is a complete joke.

Gerrard talks a good game, but actions speak louder than words. I cringed in the pre-Croatia build up as he issued his rallying cry of how England had to ‘'die out there’' and how the players had to ‘'give everything they’ve got’'. Gerrard does not have the motivational ability to inspire players to give it everything they’ve got!This was obvious against Croatia; there was a disgraceful lack urgency in the players as the Croatians were given all the room in the world to weave their magic. Gerrard barely said a word all night to his team-mates, and the real lack of proper leadership on the field was palpable.All we’ve heard over the last week is how much Gerrard loves England, and what an honour it is to captain the team, and how the Croatia game would be the biggest moment of his career. So where was the passion, Stevie? Where was your fabled ‘world-class’ ability? Where was the much-vaunted passion and inspirational leadership?

A real captain would not have let the heads go down after Scott Carson’s howler, and would’ve had a quick word with the stricken keeper in an attempt to restore his confidence. A real captain would have been pushing the players on and cajoling all night. A real captain would have fought tooth and nail to keep the confidence and self-belief flowing. Gerrard did none of these things. As per usual in the big games, whether it’s England or Liverpool, he hid and singularly failed to shoulder the responsibility.

After the game, Gerrard came out with a real corker: "The effort was there but the result wasn't. That's what was important”. What effort? The magnitude of the game seemed lost on England’s apathetic losers as they ambled around the pitch without breaking sweat for the entire game. Just as Steve McClaren didn’t want to get his hair wet, the England players didn’t want to get their hands dirty, and as the so-called ‘inspirational leader’, Gerrard must take the lion’s share of the blame.Of course, Gerrard was not solely to blame, but given his pathetic comments over the last week about foreigners taking over the league and how England are more important than Liverpool, he deserves all the criticism coming his way.

England goalkeeper Scott Carson has been chosen ahead of Paul Robinson. Photograph: Mike Egerton/Empics Steve McClaren has taken the bold and unexpected decision to drop Paul Robinson and David Beckham for tonight's decisive final qualifying fixture against Croatia, starting Scott Carson and Shaun Wright-Phillips instead as England seek a point to progress to Euro 2008.The England manager confirmed his starting line-up in a "game-plan" meeting with his squad at the team's Hertfordshire hotel last night aware that, even though the form of Carson and Wright-Phillips arguably warrants their inclusion, the selection still constitutes a risk. Beckham and Robinson boast 98 and 41 caps respectively, the goalkeeper being the only player to have featured in every minute of the side's qualification campaign to date. McClaren has effectively risked his reputation by choosing to start a crucial fixture without their experience.
Owen Hargreaves will join them on the bench, the England coach preferring Aston Villa's Gareth Barry as a midfield shield against the group leaders, with doubts persisting over the Manchester United man's ability to play a full 90 minutes after a recent tendinitis problem.

Beckham's lack of fitness has proved decisive in his non-selection. The 32-year-old has not completed a full game since LA Galaxy's 3-0 defeat by Chivas USA on August 23, some 24 hours after playing for England in their 2-1 friendly defeat to Germany.There had seemed to be some justification in selecting Beckham against Croatia to provide the lone striker, Liverpool's Peter Crouch, with accurate delivery even though the former captain managed only 62 minutes in last Friday's 1-0 win in Austria. Instead McClaren has preferred the pace and trickery of Wright-Phillips who, despite struggling recently at Chelsea, did excel in recent Wembley victories over Estonia, Russia and Israel.

"One of the reasons we had that game [in Austria] was to see people's fitness," said the England coach. "David lasted just over an hour. You could see he needed that game but the last two days in training he's been very good, excellent."On Shaun Wright-Phillips, his last three games at Wembley were very good - he scored a couple of goals and created others. We did talk about pace on both flanks and the pleasing thing for me is that Wright-Phillips showed that, with Joe Cole on the other side."McClaren admitted there was a gamble to be taken on whether to opt for experience or pace. "There's risk in everything," he said. "Experience is invaluable in these situations but there's also the innocence of youth. Micah Richards and even Joleon Lescott in the last couple of games have shown they can handle the situation. You need the experience but also the innocence of youth. It's a big game and we need big-game players but it doesn't matter what age you are. You can still be a big-game player whether you're 18 or 33.

"David Beckham is one of the best players in that position on the right-hand side and to have him around the squad is invaluable. But it's not about David, Wayne Rooney or Michael Owen. It's not about individuals. It's about the team ethic. Why we've done so well in the second half of the campaign is because we've played as a team."McClaren would also argue there is sound reasoning behind the demotion of Robinson. Despite the manager having long insisted the Tottenham goalkeeper was his No1, the 28-year-old has been error-prone in recent matches for club and country - most notably with England against Germany and Russia this season - and Carson took his chance by keeping a clean sheet on debut in Austria, albeit in a game in which he was rarely tested.

This will be the 22-year-old's first competitive appearance for his country and there is inevitably some risk, given the importance of the occasion, although he has flourished when thrown in before. As a 19-year-old he was asked to play in Liverpool's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Juventus in 2005 and performed well in a 2-1 victory that ultimately put the Merseysiders into the last four.McClaren insisted Robinson's occasionally erratic performance in training this week had not influenced his decision. "I made my mind up about the goalkeeping situation well before the players joined up on Sunday," he said. "Once I knew the result [in Israel] and what we had to do in this game, I roughly knew the team."We're in control of our own destiny again and there's been a great uplift from the players since Saturday night. Now it's up to us to prove to everybody that we're good enough to qualify."

· McClaren ponders switch to Carson or James in goal· Hargreaves set to return in five-man midfield Steve McClaren's faith in Paul Robinson for tomorrow's decisive qualifier against Croatia has been severely tested after a series of errors by the Tottenham goalkeeper in training yesterday morning। Robinson's slack handling at London Colney suggested he is still suffering from the crisis in confidence that has blighted his campaign. McClaren is now considering playing either Aston Villa's Scott Carson, who won his first cap in Friday's friendly win in Austria, or the experienced Portsmouth goalkeeper David James against the group leaders in the game from which England must take at least a point to guarantee their place at Euro 2008. Robinson has played every minute of the qualifiers so far despite his suspect form. Indeed, it was against Croatia in Zagreb 13 months ago that he endured his first truly trying moment in the national team when Gary Neville's back-pass reared up and bobbled through his attempt to clear, doubling Croatia's lead. Robinson has consistently received McClaren's full public backing to date and could justifiably call that experience freakish. But the coach would perhaps be more worried about the mistakes the goalkeeper made in games against Germany and Russia this season when his parries have gone straight to opposing strikers,and both games were lost. Even so, tomorrow's match offered the chance to make amends for the pain of Zagreb, rendering his sloppy performance in training yesterday particularly untimely. McClaren has a further training session this morning to assess his options and will consider Carson. The debutant was rarely tested against a weak Austrian side and there are believed to be understandable concerns about flinging the 22-year-old Aston Villa goalkeeper, despite his encouraging form, into competitive action in such a critical fixture. For his part, James may have 35 caps but he has made only one appearance for England - as a second-half substitute in the friendly with Germany in August - since the last warm-up match before the 2006 World Cup. While the management considered their options in goal, the squad was bolstered by the return of the Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves, recovered now from the tendinitis that has troubled him all season since his summer move from Bayern Munich. He is expected to return against Croatia, most likely as part of a five-man midfield with either Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard asked to maraud upfield in regular support of Peter Crouch. McClaren is expected to retain David Beckham on the right to earn a 99th cap, despite the LA Galaxy midfielder's lack of match fitness. The 32-year-old set up Crouch's winner at the Ernst Happel Stadium but was withdrawn, clearly exhausted, after 62 minutes. Shaun Wright-Phillips, in particular, and David Bentley are competing for inclusion in his place, although Beckham's experience on critical occasions such as this is likely to sway the management. Such a set-up is anticipated by the Croatia manager Slaven Bilic, who is likely to be without Mladen Petric after the Borussia Dortmund forward went down with a virus, so Ivica Olic of Hamburg is now likely to play alongside Arsenal's Eduardo da Silva. "England will line up 4-1-4-1, I'm sure," said Bilic. "I'm sure they'll try to push forward, but they will do it cautiously. The squad that played in Vienna is the one that will play against us, I'm sure. "I hear Guus Hiddink is urging us to win the game and give them a chance still of qualifying, but we play for ourselves, not for Russia. We want a quality result and I expect the game to be a great spectacle. We know England very well. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. Pele once said his biggest regret was not playing at Wembley. Well, we will have that chance now. We want to make the most of it." Mercedes motivation A Russian billionaire has offered four Mercedes cars to Croatia if they beat England tomorrow, a result that would give Russia a chance to reach the finals. Spartak Moscow's owner Leonid Fedun said he wanted to bolster Croatia's morale by offering their goalkeeper and best three outfield players a new car each - Croatia's goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa plays for Spartak. "I'm doing this strictly as a fan," said Fedun. "If we have even a small chance we must try to use it." An English bookmaker had promised a Mercedes to the Israel player who scored a winning goal against Russia but the Israeli FA said Omer Golan would not be able to accept the gift because it was deemed to be "beyond the bounds of sportsmanship".

Roger Federer, continuing where he left off in the semi-final against Rafael Nadal, together with his demolition of Andy Roddick on Friday, won his fourth Tennis Masters Cup in six years inside the Qi Zhong stadium, crushing Spain's David Ferrer 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Only three players - Pete Sampras (5), Ilie Nastase (4) and Ivan Llendl (5) - had previously won this tournament four times or more and, like most records in tennis, the Swiss world No 1 appears more than likely to break it. Understandably, given recent defeats in Madrid and Paris against David Nalbandian, and then his opening round robin loss here against Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, Federer's form had been questioned. "I heard that people were talking, but I'm always very honest about my losses, and importantly I turned it round. I'm happy to have proved myself yet again." And with a vengeance. Federer's victory earned him £600,000, and took his total prize money for the year to more than £4.3m, a record for him. The French Open title remains the one major he has yet to win, having lost to Nadal in the Roland Garros final for the past two years. However, in three of the last four years Federer has won the other three slams, taking his total to 12, two behind Sampras, whom he will meet in three exhibitions this week in Seoul tomorrow, Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, and Macau on Saturday. Federer had acknowledged that the biggest difference in Ferrer's game this year, during which he has risen to a career high No 5, was his increased mental strength: "You used to get down on himself very quickly." The Spaniard had every reason to feel miserable on this occasion as the world No 1 hit the court running, rattling off the opening set in a mere 26 minutes. Federer had won all his previous seven matches against Ferrer, and the eighth was never remotely in doubt. At the end of the second set the disconsolate Spaniard, who reached the US Open semi-finals this year, snapped his racket over his thigh. As for breaking Federer, that proved impossible. Ferrer, previously unbeaten this week, had a Spanish trumpeter in the crowd to help inspire him, but it was Federer who orchestrated every move. In the doubles final Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Daniel Nestor of Canada beat Sweden's Simon Aspelin and Austria's Julian Knowle 6-2, 6-3.

RL may not have the pulling power of its rival Union code or football, but a series whitewash against New Zealand is surely worth more than a passing glance.Great Britain have just won a Rugby League Test series against the New Zealand 3-0, which included a 44-0 demolition of their down-under opponents in the second match. However, the series has gone unnoticed as the media moguls of TV and newspapers concentrate on the dismal Euro 2008 performance of England's second-rate football team. Why as a nation do we feed on bad news and always look at the negatives? How often do Great Britain whitewash New Zealand? Yet the series, apart from live coverage on Sky and highlights programme on BBC, gets no public attention. The sport is great! It's fast paced compared to Rugby Union, yet it comes second best in the battle of the codes. Is it because coach Tony Smith's team were representing Britain rather than England, Scotland or Wales? I would be suprised if many people actually know that there is a Rugby League World Cup next year in Australia and although the host nation will be strong favourites, the English boys will look to do what there colleagues did in France in the Union World Cup last month. Unfortunately, the World Cup recognises individual countries and not a Great Britain team, so our chances are severly hampered.The media continues to press on with doom and gloom concerning the bad management style of Steve McClaren and the inevitable missing out on Euro 2008 qualification. TV news highlights the growing list of injured England players set to miss out on the friendly game with Austria this weekend. and newspapers are having a field day. What happened to the back-page headlines on Sunday of Great Britain's Rugby League heroics? We need to give RL the recognition it deserves in this country and need to enjoy the moment - looking at the sporting success we can and do have and not wallowing in self-pity.Next year is the first RL World Cup in eight years, due to financial problems and we need to get the sport's popularity back again, especially as we actually have a decent team and a chance of winning.

The young Serb has had a great 2007 but in the Shanghai Masters he was uninspiring in defeat to Richard Gasquet. But Djokovic will be back to muscle in on the Federer-Nadal monopoly. Novak Djokovic and Richard Gasquet have both played in matches this year that showed off their own brands of elegant tennis. Gasquet's trademark one-handed backhand has become the de facto symbol for his finesse play, while Djokovic's text-book shots from both the forehand and backhand side characterise his very successful approach to the game. The two met on Tuesday in the Tennis Masters Cup, in a critical match (both were 0-1 in round-robin play heading in) that had the potential to be a memorable contest. Unfortunately, we didn't see on the day any of the elegance that each player used to get them to Shanghai. In a match that was more a display of Djokovic's fatigue than Gasquet's execution, Richard won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, all but eliminating Djokovic from the year's final tournament. Gasquet had a number of highlight reel shots, but a majority of the points ended as a result of Djokovic being unable to deliver on his side of the court. Djokovic has played in a few lopsided matches this year, but rarely has he been on the receiving end. Yesterday was one of those anomalies. Novak's play in Shanghai may have been uninspiring, but his play in 2007 has been nothing short of amazing. Coming into the year, the tennis world consisted of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and everyone else. Twelve months later, Djokovic has made significant inroads on this duopoly by not only separating himself from the pack as the clear No.3 in the world, but by taking down these two giants on big stages. Djokovic defeated Nadal in Key Biscayne in the spring, and once again in the Montreal semi-finals in August. In the very next match he played at the Rogers Masters, Novak then upset Federer in a classic three-set final. The tennis pundits (myself included) talked about the group of so-called "young guns" ad nausea in 2006. I expected one or a few of them to make leaps this year. I didn't expect to see a long jump worthy of an Olympic medal, which is what Djokovic accomplished in 2007. Djokovic's accolades this year are what many players would dream of achieving in an entire career. He won two Masters Series shields (Miami and Canada), reached the finals of another (Indian Wells), and went to the semi-finals or better in three of the four Grand Slams (SF French Open, SF Wimbledon, F U.S. Open). Djokovic has earned his rest - which he'll need to come back next year with the same vigour - and has earned his spot in the sport's elite. 2007 was the third straight year of the main course that is Federer/Nadal, but Djokovic added a tantalising third option to the meal. At times, he was even the centrepiece.

For six consecutive games, all of them victories, the Giants set out to prove that the start of their season was an aberration. Yet all those Sundays removed from a humiliating opening-day defeat to the Cowboys in Texas, the Giants squandered a second chance to make a strong impression and recast themselves as true title contenders. It looked like the start of the season, after all. On a cool evening in November, the Giants were undone by an eerily similar game to the one they lost on a warm night in September. They allowed a pair of long touchdown passes from Tony Romo to Terrell Owens in the second half and fell to the Cowboys, 31-20. The Giants (6-3) will probably play the final seven games for a wild-card entry into the postseason. They are two games behind the Cowboys (8-1) in the National Football Conference East, but the deficit is actually three because the Cowboys hold the tie breaker over the Giants by virtue of sweeping the season series. “You focus on winning football games, and when you get to the playoffs, anything can happen,” defensive end Michael Strahan said. “And who knows? Maybe we go to the playoffs and we play those guys again, and you have another shot at it.” When the Giants lost to the Cowboys, 45-35, in the season opener, and then to the Packers, 35-13, in the second game, there was reason to wonder if they were any good at all. Now the Giants know where they stand: firmly in the playoff hunt, but far behind the Cowboys and the Packers, who have identical records atop the N.F.C. They play each other in Dallas on Nov. 29. After the game, the Giants framed the loss in optimism. They pointed to their overall record and the resiliency it represents, and suggested that Sunday’s result stemmed from their mistakes as much as superlative play by the Cowboys. “I’m disappointed,” said Giants Coach Tom Coughlin, who called his team its “own worst enemy” against the Cowboys. “But I think we have a good football team,” he said. But on the way to the final score, the Giants revealed their inadequacies: a solid but susceptible defense unlikely to carry the franchise’s championship aspirations, and an inconsistent offensive attack that cannot keep up with the Cowboys. The Giants won six in a row largely because they allowed a league-best 13.2 points a game during the winning stretch. But the victories came against some of the N.F.L.’s weakest teams; the Giants’ previous four opponents have a combined 6-29 record. The Giants were bent on proving that though the winning streak might have been paved with patsies, it was not performed with mirrors. The score was tied at halftime, 17-17, but the Cowboys regained the lead on a drive that only teased the Giants’ hopes and fueled their regrets. Three times the defense forced a third down. Three times fans rose and spiritedly waved small white towels they were handed when they arrived, imploring the Giants to make a stop. Three times, the Cowboys made the first down, and the fans quieted and sat. Immediately after the third conversion, Romo lofted a perfect pass to Owens for a 25-yard touchdown. The tease continued on the kickoff. Ahmad Bradshaw burst past most of the Cowboys — and a yellow penalty flag flying the other way. Bradshaw was finally pushed out of bounds at the Cowboys’ 2-yard line, but the play was undone by a holding call on the rookie Kevin Boss. “I was just hoping it wasn’t to me,” Boss said of the flag thrown his direction. “Then I saw Ahmad down the sideline, and my heart kind of sank.” Rather than being 2 yards from tying the score, the Giants were 83 yards away, at their 17-yard line. They gamely tried taking the long road, even waiting until third down to make the biggest plays, including a 23-yard completion to Amani Toomer on third-and-10 near midfield. But as running back Brandon Jacobs crossed the goal line for what was cheered as a tying, 6-yard touchdown, a penalty flag flew from the hand of the referee Jeff Triplette. He called guard Chris Snee for holding, reversing the play and the game’s momentum with 14 minutes 9 seconds left. “It didn’t even come into my mind that it would have been me,” said Snee, who was pulling to the left and pushed aside safety Roy Williams, allowing Jacobs to run through a hole behind. “I was surprised and angry. I don’t know what else to say. If I gave him any doubt, then I guess it must have been on me.” The Giants followed with a delay of game penalty, one of seven penalties in the second half. Unraveled, they finally settled for an unsatisfying 26-yard field goal and a 24-20 deficit. Owens soon got behind the Giants’ pass defense again, and Romo found him with an easy 50-yard touchdown lob for a 31-20 lead with 10:43 left in the game. The Giants were put back in their place: second place in the N.F.C. East, tucked for now into a wild-card playoff spot, headed to Detroit for a game Sunday against the Lions (6-3). Romo, in outplaying Manning, matched his Week 1 output with four touchdown passes. He completed 20 of 28 throws for 247 yards. Manning was 23 of 34 for 236 yards, and was sacked five times. Tight end Jeremy Shockey caught a career-high 12 passes, including an 8-yard touchdown that tied the score midway through the first quarter. In the season opener, Manning had four touchdown passes, three of them to receiver Plaxico Burress. But Burress was held to four catches for 24 yards. For 29 minutes 33 seconds, the Giants held the Cowboys to 10 points, a pace short of the 33 points the Cowboys had averaged in their first eight games. The Cowboys took a 17-14 lead with 27 seconds left in the half, with Romo skipping the team downfield with a series of short completions. From the 20-yard line, with the Giants blitzing, Romo threw quickly across the middle to Patrick Crayton, who slipped through the attempted tackle of Aaron Ross and past Kevin Dockery for the score. The Giants looked ready to head to halftime trailing, handing off to Jacobs for no gain. But a 15-yard taunting penalty on Cowboys linebacker Kevin Burnett made the Giants rethink the strategy, and Manning threw a 29-yard pass to Shockey, who stepped out of bounds with six seconds left. Lawrence Tynes kicked a 40-yard field goal to tie the score. There was hope that the Giants would go on to tie the Cowboys in the standings, too. It would disappear in the second half, along with most of the discouraged fans. By the time the game ended, it all felt a little like the Giants were back where they started. EXTRA POINTS Right tackle Kareem McKenzie left the game early in the third quarter with bruised back, but returned in the fourth quarter. ... Tony Romo has thrown 8 of the 16 passing touchdowns the Giants have allowed. ...Cornerback Corey Webster was not active for the game, although he is not believed to have an injury. Webster started for the Giants in the Week 1 game against the Cowboys, but has slowly been squeezed from the lineup since with the emergence of the rookie Aaron Ross.

Travel-sick Preston got off to the worst possible start with Hull storming into a two-goal lead inside 22 minutes. And it was that old warhorse Dean Windass who scored the first and laid on the second. The veteran striker put the Tigers in front after 11 minutes, heading home after keeper Andrew Lonergan had pulled off a good save. Lonergan got down well to parry a stinging shot from Fraizer Campbell. But the ball looped up into the air and Windass reacted quickest to get his head to it and nod it over the goal-line. Disaster struck again for Paul Simpson's strugglers just over 10 minutes later when Windass fired in a cross from the right, centre-half Sean St Ledger slipped as he went to clear and Campbell was able to control and slot the ball past Lonergan into the bottom left corner. North End had started the brighter of the two sides and could have had the lead themselves after just eight minutes when Karl Hawley created a chance for big striker Andy Carroll, but his shot was brilliantly turned round the post by City keeper Bo Myhill at full stretch. Simpson shuffled his pack for the second time in a week in the hope of conjuring up Preston's first away win of the season. John Halls, Callum Davidson and Hawley all returned to the side to take on Hull City at the impressive KC Stadium. Loan signing Halls was brought in at right-back in place of the injured Billy Jones after missing Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Leicester. Davidson returned to the centre of midfield in place of Kevin Nicholls, with no word from the North End dressing room regarding the reason for the skipper's absence from the squad. And striker Hawley swapped places with Brett Ormerod after sitting out the midweek fixture as an unused substitute. Hull, victors at Burnley on Tuesday and looking for their first back-to-back wins of an inconsistent season, made just one change to the 11 on duty at Turf Moor. Windass, a thorn in Preston's side when the two sides met in the corresponding fixture last term, was brought back in place of Richard Garcia. Former Bolton star Jay-Jay Okocha was named on the bench for the second game in succession. Hull City: Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Delaney, Ashbee, Marney, Hughes, Windass, Campbell, McPhee. Substitutes: Dawson, Elliott, Duke, Livermore, Okocha. Preston North End: Lonergan, Halls, Mawene, St Ledger, Hill, Sedgwick, McKenna, Davidson, Whaley, Carroll, Hawley. Substitutes: C Neal, Carter, Agyemang, Ormerod, Chilvers. Referee: Scott Mathieson (Greater Manchester)