England: JT retires, but who will replace him at the back?

With Chelsea captain and centre back John Terry having controversially retired on Sunday, England have lost one of their key members of their back four. Despite the shock decision, the World Cup is still two years away, leaving national manager Roy Hodgson time to find an ideal replacement. We have listed the potential candidates who can fill the gap, and become central to the heart of the England back line.

Gary Cahill: (Chelsea)
Caps: 10 Goals: 2

picture: teamtalk.com

Former Bolton defender Gary Cahill is Terry's team mate at Chelsea and has been unlucky with his opportunities in the national set up. The 26 year old joined the London team last January and finished the season with a Champions League and FA Cup final medal. Cahill fitted in the Chelsea team quickly and became a regular fixture alongside Terry in their back four towards the end of last year. In England's recent World Cup qualifier against Ukraine, Cahill was overlooked by Roy Hodgson, who selected Everton's Phil Jagielka ahead of the Chelsea man. Having suffered a jaw injury before the Euros last June, Cahill was unlucky to miss out on travelling to the tournament. But with him likely to face Champions League opposition with Chelsea this season, Hodgson may favour Cahill ahead of Jagielka in the upcoming qualifiers.

Phil Jagielka: (Everton)
Caps: 14 Goals: 1

picture: guardian.co.uk

Everton centre back Phil Jagielka will be keen to claim the gap left in the England defence by John Terry. Jagielka was chosen ahead of Gary Cahill in the recent qualifier against Ukraine and also featured and scored in the summer friendly with Italy. Having played together with Joleon Lescott when the Man City defender was at Everton, Roy Hodgson may be tempted to choose Jagielka ahead of Cahill. The two have played together for England four times on which they have come out winners on all occasions. Both centre backs look set to be regular fixtures for their club this season, and having forged a partnership at Everton, this partnership at the back could well be the future for the Three Lions.

Joleon Lescott: (Manchester City)
Caps: 23 Goals: 1

Lescott has established himself as Terry's partner in the England defence and has been a regular feature in Roy Hodgson's games. The former Everton defender is almost a definite starter in England's World Cup qualifying campaign over the next two years, but the question is, who will partner the Man City defender? Lescott partnered Terry at every game in the European Championships, including scoring England's first goal of the tournament against France in the group stages. He was involved heavily in City's title winning season last year alongside Vincent Kompany, but with the side leaking goals early on this year, Lescott's performances will need to improve if he is to be a dead cert in the England side.

Chris Smalling: (Manchester United)
Caps: 3

picture: popeandswift.co.uk

Despite only managing three England caps to his name, Chris Smalling certainly has a bright future wearing the national shirt. Smalling is currently injured, and is working his way back to full fitness. The former Fulham defender has two solid seasons behind him for United in the top league, and his versatility is key to his inclusion in the national set up. As well as being able at centre back, Smalling has featured at right back at Old Trafford and will be just as reliable there as he is in the centre. Smalling's only appearances for England came at the end of the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign under Fabio Capello. Smalling also has plenty of experience at U21 level and will certainly feature for England again when back to full match fitness.

Phil Jones: (Manchester United)
Caps: 5

picture: the-football-blog.co.uk

Just like club team mate Chris Smalling, Phil Jones is another useful defender to have in the national squad. At only 20 years old, Jones was involved in the European qualifying campaign and was also taken to the finals by Hodgson where he played no part. Jones has been used mainly at right back for United but is also able to play in central defence and even in midfield where he played whilst at Blackburn. His tireless box to box runs and attacking threat makes him a dead cert to be involved in Hodgson's squads in the near future.

Deadline Day: A Summer of Transfer Madness

We saw a huge amount of activity last week as the transfer window came to an end on Friday. We look at the winners and losers of the window and round up which players made the biggest moves to and from England on the final day.

Deadline Day Winners:

picture: Manchester City

Unlike their rivals, Manchester City left it to the final day to make any moves. Roberto Mancini had only brought in Jack Rodwell in the window before the last day, with the former Everton youngster moving for £12million. The midfielder was joined by a number of players on the final day, as Mancini left it late to improve his squad. Brazilian full back Maicon made the move to the Etihad from Inter Milan for around £3million. The new arrival was joined by another defender with Fiorentina centre back Matija Nastasic moving to Manchester in a part exchange deal which saw Stefan Savic go in the opposite direction. Other arrivals brought in by Mancini included winger Scott Sinclair moving from Swansea, and Benfica midfielder Javi Martinez who cost the club £16million. Moving out of Manchester, winger Adam Johnson went to Sunderland, midfielder Nigel De Jong went to AC Milan whilst striker Roque Santa Cruz went to Malaga on a season long loan.

picture: dailymail.co.uk

As well as City, Tottenham Hotspur had a successful last day as new manager Andre Villas Boas took advantage of the window. AVB had previously completed the permanent signing of Emmanuel Adebayor who had spent the previous season on loan at White Hart Lane. The Portuguese manager had already captured Gylfi Sigurdsson and defender Jan Vertonghen earlier on in the summer. The surprise move of the summer was American Clint Dempsey who had looked set to move to Liverpool. Spurs had taken advantage of the Merseyside club's inability to match the asking fee for Dempsey who made the move across London for £6million. Dempsey joins his former Fulham team mate Moussa Dembele who also joined Spurs the previous day for a fee of £15million. Moving out of Spurs, Luka Modric made the expected move to Real Madrid for £30million which also saw Rafa Van Der Vaart return to Hamburg where he played before moving to Spurs.

Deadline Day Losers: 

picture: liverpoolfc.com

It was a deadline day to forget for Liverpool and Brendan Rogers. Despite managing to bring in Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Fabio Borini earlier on in the window, Rogers was unable to strengthen the squad much to many fans annoyance. Having let £35million man Andy Carroll leave on loan to West Ham the previous day, Liverpool were expected to replace the striker. American Clint Dempsey had been linked with the reds all summer but having fallen short of the valuation of the midfielder, Liverpool missed out meaning he made a last gasp move to Spurs. Having failed to sign another striker during the window, it leaves Rogers with only Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini as options in attack. Deadline day at Anfield saw midfielders Charlie Adam and Jay Spearing leave, with the latter on a loan deal to Bolton Wanderers. Adam, who had only spent a year at Liverpool, made a £4million move to Stoke City where he signed a four year deal.

No-one may have been as unlucky or as unfortunate as Liverpool in the window, but Arsenal may feel they could have done slightly better over the summer. Having already brought in Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski, Arsene Wenger was keen to bring in an additional midfielder. Having lost Alex Song to Barcelona, and with Jack Wilshere still injured, Arsenal had been close to capturing playmaker Nuri Sahin on loan. But having failed to come to an agreement, Sahin moved to Liverpool leaving Arsenal finding themselves one Abou Diaby injury away from having to play youngster Francis Coquelin.

Premier League round up:

picture: stokecityfc.com

Fulham were heavily involved in transfer activity this summer seeing players come in and out of Craven Cottage. Bulgarian front man Dimitar Berbatov made the switch on deadline day making the move from Manchester United for a fee in the region of £4million. He was joined by Kieran Richardson who moved from Sunderland for £3million. Stoke City were also busy in the window and captured the services of free agent Michael Owen. The 32 year old had been released from Manchester United in June and signed a one year deal with The Potters. Tony Pulis had looked set to bring in Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone on loan but having failed to reach an agreement, Pulis brought in Blackburn man Steven N'Zonzi, paying £3million for his services.

Other Deadline Day movers:

Yossi Benayoun: Chelsea - West Ham (season long loan)
Danny Rose: Tottenham - Sunderland (season long loan)
Gaston Ramirez: Bologna - Southampton (£12million)
Hugo Lloris: Lyon - Tottenham (£11.8million)
Stephane Mbia: Marseille - QPR (£4.5million)
Bryan Oviedo: FC Copenhagen - Everton (£5million)
Christian Benteke: Genk - Aston Villa (£7million)
Pablo Hernandez: Valencia - Swansea (£5.5million)

Football League round up:

picture: examiner.co.uk

Blackburn Rovers sealed one of the biggest deals of the window by capturing Jordan Rhodes who moved from Huddersfield Town for £8million. It looked likely that Rhodes would stay with the Terriers, but with Leon Best out through injury, Steve Kean needed a replacement. Fellow forward David Goodwillie moved out of Ewood Park though going to Crystal Palace on a season long loan. Palace were again involved on deadline day as they captured defender Damien Delaney who moved on a free transfer from Ipswich Town. The Tractor Boys were the talk of the Championship on deadline day as they were in talks with Peterborough United duo George Boyd and Paul Taylor. Both were transfer listed at London Road and it was the latter of the two that made a permanent move. Despite on going talks, Boyd rejected the chance and remains at Peterborough for the forthcoming months.

picture: pnefc.net

In League One, Sheffield United were involved in transfer activity on deadline day as they brought in Dave Kitson from Portsmouth and saw midfielder Stephen Quinn move out as he went to Hull City. Promoted from League Two last year, Paolo Di Canio's Swindon saw many comings and goings during the window. The Italian brought in striker Adam Rooney from Birmingham City, with Paul Caddis moving in the opposite direction. Despite financial worry, Portsmouth were able to make deadline day moves as they saw Darel Russell, Josh Thompson and Johnny Ertle all make their move to Fratton Park on free transfers.

In League Two, Southend striker Kane Ferdinand made the step up to the Championship as he went to Peterborough United for £200,000. Another mover out of League Two was Wycombe forward Stuart Beavon who moved to Preston North End for an undisclosed fee. Beavon had scored 25 times for Wycombe last season. Despite losing Beavon, Wycombe had previously brought in striker Jo Kuffour who moved from fellow League Two side Gillingham on a free transfer.

Other Deadline Day movers:

Jay Bothroyd: QPR - Sheffield Wednesday (season long loan)
Craig Noone: Brighton - Cardiff (£1million)
Billy Sharp: Southampton - Notts Forest (season long loan)
Andrea Orlandi: Swansea - Brighton (undisclosed fee)
Nicky Maynard: West Ham - Cardiff (£2.5million)
Iain Hume: Preston - Doncaster (season long loan)
Martin Taylor: Watford - Sheffield Wednesday (undisclosed fee)
David Stephens: Hibernian - Barnet (Free transfer)

World Cup 2014 Qualifier: England V Moldova Preview

With all focus on the domestic season, the beginning of the qualifying campaign for the World Cup in two years begins this weekend. After falling to Italy in the quarter finals at Euro 2012, England beat the Italians 2-1 in a recent friendly. Their opponents this Friday come in the shape of Moldova who last played England back in 1996 where they were comfortably beaten 4-0 at Wembley.

England boss Roy Hodgson named his squad for the qualifiers last week and has included a number of players who weren't involved in the Euros. Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has been included in the squad having revealed in January he didn't want to be considered for international selection. He has been joined by Sunderland winger Adam Johnson and Daniel Sturridge who were overlooked in the summer.

picture: skysports.com

With Andy Carroll and Wayne Rooney both out through injury, Hodgson has only three strikers in his squad having made the decision not to replace Carroll, who had to pull out due to an injury sustained for West Ham at the weekend. Alongside Sturridge, the former West Brom boss has Danny Welbeck and Jermain Defoe as other options upfront. At the back John Terry has been included having missed their recent game against Newcastle with a neck injury. In goal, Joe Hart is backed up by John Ruddy and Jack Butland with QPR keeper Rob Green overlooked.  Left back Ashley Cole was set to make his 100th international appearance against Ukraine next week but has pulled out due to an ankle injury, meaning Everton defender Leighton Baines looking set to take his place in the team.

Opponents Moldova are ranked 137 in the world and should be relatively easy for England. As mentioned above, England's last game against Moldova came back in 1997 when they comfortably came out 4-0 winners. That day Glen Hoddle's men included legendary keeper David Seaman, David Beckham and Stan Collymore. Goals that day came from Paul Scholes, Paul Gascoigne and a double from Ian Wright. The game was  a World Cup qualifier as they aimed for a place at France '98

picture: sportinglife.com

Moldova finished second bottom in their Euro 2012 qualifying group with nine points having recorded wins against Finland and twice against San Marino. The majority of their squad play their trade in Moldova and are managed by Ion Caras. Captain Alexandru Epureanu is currently the most capped player in the squad at the moment having played 43 times for his country.

England's group for the World Cup contains five other teams including Ukraine and Montenegro who England previously faced in their Euro 2012 qualifying group. Alongside them are Poland and San Marino who should be easier opponents for England. The fixtures will be played over the next year and will also include friendlies against Sweden and Scotland.

Roy Hodgson's men will play their first game in the Zimbru Stadium in Moldova on Friday evening and will follow their first game with a home fixture against Ukraine five days later.

Capital One Cup: Third Round Draw

Having witnessed many upsets in the first round, the Capital One Cup the theme of David beating Goliath continued in the second round of the competition. 

picture: sportinglife.com

The second stage saw the entrance of 13 Premier League sides with only Fulham and Stoke City failing to progress. The Cottagers were beaten 1-0 away to Sheffield Wednesday thanks to a Gary Madine penalty whilst Stoke were beaten at home by Swindon Town in extra time 4-3. The League One side had gone into half time two goals to the good, but were pegged back in the second half after Jonathan Walters and Kenwyne Jones had made the game level. Despite throwing away the lead, Swindon's James Collins grabbed a late winner in extra time to take Paolo Di Canio's men to the third round where they will play Burnley. 

The upsets continuted in the second round with plenty of Championship clubs falling victim to lower league opposition. The most notable game involved Leicester City who were comfortably beaten 4-2 at home to League Two side Burton Albion. Midlands rivals Birmingham City and Coventry went head to head, and it was the Sky Blues who came out on top beating their opponents 3-2 after extra time. Both Blackburn and Bolton were knocked out after both sides were beaten away to League One opposition. Blackburn were beaten 2-1 by MK Dons whilst Bolton came away from Crawley also losing 2-1. 

With the third round upon us already, the remaining seven Premier League sides enter the competition. Winners from last year Liverpool will travel to West Brom who comfortably beat them 3-0 on the opening day of the season. Coventry's reward for beating Birmingham in the last round is a trip to the Emirates where they will face Arsenal. Both Manchester clubs both have home fixtures in the third round with United facing a tricky test against Newcastle United. Rivals City have a slightly easier task as they come up against Paul Lambert and Aston Villa. 

Having comfortably come through their second round tie against Leyton Orient, Everton face a difficult game as they travel to Championship side Leeds United. The Toffee's came away 5-0 winners in their second round game, and have got off to a flyer in the league. Neil Warnock's men have also had a good start in the Championship having taken seven points from their first four games. 

All ties will be played the week commencing the 24th September 2012.

Third Round Fixtures: 

Man United v Newcastle United

Man City v Aston Villa

MK Dons v Sunderland

West Brom v Liverpool

Crawley v Swansea City

QPR v Reading

Norwich v Doncaster Rovers

Bradford v Burton Albion

Preston v Middlesbrough

Arsenal v Coventry City

Southampton v Sheffield Wednesday

Chelsea v Wolves

Carlisle v Tottenham Hotspur

Swindon v Burnley

West Ham v Wigan Athletic

Leeds United v Everton

The future's bright: Why the youth at Liverpool is key to their success

Despite only managing a draw against Manchester City yesterday, Liverpool fans can still take a lot away from the game. Losing 3-0 away on the opening day of the season, things hadn't gone to plan for Brendan Rogers and as per, immediate pressure was heaped upon him. Rogers appointment brought a young fresh approach to the club, which was immediately shown in his line up yesterdays afternoon.

picture: bbc.co.uk

With the average age of the team under 25, it was the youngest fielded line up the club had fielded since 2003. In his line up, saw the selection of 17 year old Raheem Sterling. Despite being so young, the winger had a fine game and proved the justification for his selection. Sterling had figured last week in the club's Europa League game at Hearts where again, he showed his excellent talent. Sterling's selection meant that fellow wide man and England international Stewart Downing, was left sat on the bench. The former Middlesbrough man was at the heart of much criticism last season having failed to register a single goal or assist for Liverpool in the Premier League. Having witnessed Sterling's admirable display yesterday, Downing will have to expect to be sitting on the bench more regularly, especially with the way Rogers now has them playing.

Alongside Downing sat Jordan Henderson, who also had to settle for a seat on the bench. Much like Downing, Henderson also received a lot of criticism last season having cost the Merseyside club £16million. Henderson was a key figure in his former club Sunderland's side, but the step up to Liverpool for Henderson was a difficult one and was not helped with such a big fee paid for him. Performances last year under Dalglish were below par and a call up to the England squad for the Euro's last summer sparked much controversy. In his place though yesterday was Joe Allen. Having only played one season for Swansea in the top division, Allen was brought in by Rogers. At £15million, you may say that Liverpool have once again paid over the odds for a young midfield player. However in his first two games Allen has shown why he will be a valuable asset to them this year. In yesterdays game against Manchester City, Allen completed 93.5 per cent of his passes. At just 22, Allen could well be one of the signings of the season, especially if he has a similar season to the one he had with Swansea. But just like Downing, if Allen continues the way he's started, Jordan Henderson will be twiddling his thumbs on the Liverpool bench.

At the back, Sebastian Coates, the Uruguayan centre back, was used to partner Martin Skrtel ahead of club legend Jamie Carragher. Coates was brought in by Dalglish last season, and only featured ten times last season at the back. With Daniel Agger out through suspension, Coates was given his first start of the season yesterday and would have been happy with his performance against Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli. The 21 year old may be used more as a back up this year but certainly has a long future at Anfield and definitely under Brendan Rogers.

picture: dailymail.co.uk

The three above weren't the only youngsters to feature in yesterdays game. Apart from Steven Gerrard, the remaining members of the team were all aged under 30. Rogers is keen to take on the youngsters at the club and give them a chance. Jonjo Shelvey was brought on the injured Lucas yesterday, ahead of Jordan Henderson, and Charlie Adam, who didn't even make the bench. Shelvey is only 20, but his display yesterday showed maturity and a willing to do well in the team. Martin Kelly has become a regular feature into the team and his call up to the England squad in the summer showed the progress the young right back has made whilst at Liverpool. Nuri Sahin has recently been brought in on loan from Real Madrid, and the 23 year old will add an exciting talent to the squad. Rogers took a wealth of youngsters to the club's pre season tour, with Adam Morgan, Suso Fernandez and Connor Coady making the trip and have all progressed through Melwood.

So Liverpool fans can expect to see more of Sterling and co this year. Yesterdays performance will give fans some hope that the team can improve on last season's poor efforts. Rogers is keen to bring youth to the team and after yesterdays performance there is a lot of encouragement to take into the season.

Capital One Cup: Second Round Draw

As the football season begins to get into full swing, eyes drew to the second round of the Capital One Cup. The first round games threw up some cracking games and some excellent entertainment. Seven Championship teams fell at the first hurdle with last years runners up Cardiff losing to League Two side Northampton Town the shock of the round. Derby were involved in a ten goal thriller at Pride Park which ended 5-5 after extra time. Their opponents Scunthorpe came out the eventual winners 7-6 on penalties and will face Norwich in the second round.

picture: thisisscunthorpe.co.uk

Other Championship casualties included Brighton, who were well beaten 3-0 by Paolo Di Canio's Swindon Town. Paul Benson struck early on in the second half for the Robins, and an Alan Navarro brace soon after booked them a second round tie against Premier League side Stoke City. Bristol City also crashed out losing 2-1 to League Two side Gillingham Town at Ashton Gate. 

Relegated side Wolverhampton Wanderers needed a penalty shoot out to get past Aldershot Town at Molineux. Michel Rankine had cancelled out a Sylvain Ebanks Blake goal in the second half and after the first 13 penalty kicks had been successful, Wolves keeper Carl Ikeme kept out Jordan Robert's penalty to give the Championship side a second round tie away at Northampton Town.

All Premier League sides come into the second round bar the clubs competing in Europe meaning there are 13 top flight clubs playing for a third round tie. Everton are involved in one of the stand out games playing at home to League One side Leyton Orient. Morecambe's reward for dumping Blackpool out of the cup, is a trip to the North East where they will play Sunderland. 

Both Wigan and Fulham will have to play to their best if they are progress as they both travel to a Championship club. Having been dumped out of FA Cup by Swindon last season, Wigan face a tough task in playing Nottingham Forest. Fulham face newly promoted Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. 

All ties will commence the week beginning the 27th August 2012

Second Round Fixtures: 

Aston Villa v Tranmere Rovers

Burnley v Plymouth

Carlisle v Ipswich Town

Coventry v Birmingham City

Crawley v Bolton

Doncaster v Hull City

Gillingham v Middlesbrough

Leeds United v Oxford United

Leicester City v Burton Albion

MK Dons v Blackburn Rovers

Norwich v Scunthorpe

Notts Forest v Wigan Athletic

Preston v Crystal Palace

QPR v Walsall

Sheff Wed v Fulham

Stevenage v Southampton

Stoke City v Swindon Town

Sunderland v Morecambe

Swansea v Barnsley

Watford v Bradford

West Ham v Crewe Alex

Yeovil v West Brom

Reading v Peterborough

Everton v Leyton Orient

Northampton v Wolves

2012/13 Championship: Season Preview

With eyes firmly fixed on the Premier League beginning this weekend, we turn to the Football League and the Championship. All 72 teams begin their seasons this weekend and will all be aiming for a good start. Cardiff and Huddersfield kicked off the season on Friday night where the Bluebirds clinched a late goal to claim their first three points.

picture: zimbio.com

We begin with the three relegated clubs from the Premier League. All of them will be big  favourites to make an instant return. Bolton Wanderers failed to stay up last season, failing to get a needed win against Stoke on the final game of the year. Owen Coyle's men look big favourites to go up having kept the likes of David N'gog and Martin Petrov in their ranks. The signings of Matt Mills and Keith Andrews will add further strength to the squad. Blackburn and Wolves will also look to make an immediate return, with Rovers boss Steve Kean adding Danny Murphy, Nuno Gomes and Leon Best to his squad. Since finishing bottom of the Premier League, Wolves brought in new boss Stale Solbakken who will look to regain the players confidence for the new season. Newly promoted Huddersfield Town made the jump via last seasons play off's having beaten Sheffield United in a close penalty shoot out at Wembley. Striker Jordan Rhodes looks set to remain with the Terriers and after scoring 40 goals last season, his goals will be important if they are to remain in the Championship. Charlton Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday join Huddersfield in the Championship having gained automatic promotion from League One last year. Wednesday boss Dave Jones had brought in a wealth of players including injury plagued keeper Chris Kirkland from Wigan, and defender Anthony Gardner who made the move from Crystal Palace. 

The chase for the play off's will be hotly contested this season with a number of clubs eager for one of the four places up for grabs. Cardiff City will be amongst the positions as will the likes of Leicester City and Leeds United. Nottingham Forest have been recently taken over by new investors and immediately brought in a new boss and new players. Defenders Greg Halford and Danny Collins made the move and were joined by West Brom striker Simon Cox who will add to their strikeforce, who last season struggled to find the net. New boss Sean O'Driscoll will be eager to get off to a good start as they begin their campaign against Bristol City. Watford are another side who have new owners as they were taken over by Italian Giampaolo Pozzo. He immediately brought in new manager Gianfranco Zola, who has since brought in a number of players including former Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia.

picture: posh.footballblog.co.uk

Down at the bottom of the division, the relegation battle with be contested by a number of clubs. Bristol City and Barnsley escaped last season and will once again become favourites to go down. The newly promoted sides will also find themselves down at the bottom, if they don't get a good start to their campaign, As mentioned, Jordan Rhodes will be critical to Huddersfield if they are to stay up and with Charlton, striker Bradley Wright-Phillips will also need to be hitting the net regularly if the Addicks are to remain a Championship side. Having finished in a very respectable 18th place last season, Peterborough United will want to improve their position this season. The Posh were relegated straight away the last time they achieved promotion, but boss Darren Ferguson brought in experience and quality to his squad meaning they comfortably stayed up second time around. Despite being placed on the transfer list, key players Paul Taylor and George Boyd will begin the season as Posh players, and alongside experienced midfield man Grant McCann, Posh will continue to be difficult opponents, especially at home.