Milner wants chance to take the spotlight with England

November 12, 2009

England winger James Milner is praying that Fabio Capello will give his understudies a chance to take the spotlight before deciding on his squad for next year’s World Cup.

While the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney are certain to be on the plane to South Africa, Milner is one of a group of players still fighting for a seat on the flight.

If Theo Walcott and Steven Gerrard are fit in May and remain Capello’s ideal combination on the flanks, then Milner is competing with David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Ashley Young and Joe Cole for the back-up places.

Many pundits feel Beckham’s big-game experience makes him certain to go even though he has been reduced to a bit-part role under Capello.

But Aston Villa star Milner is confident that the Italian will pick players based on their performances for club and country, starting with Saturday’s friendly against Brazil in Qatar.

“Do I get the impression Beckham is nailed on for the World Cup? I don’t know. The only thing I can control is myself. That is all I can do,” Milner said.

“The World Cup is massive, with a lot of media coverage good and bad, and as a player I just try and concentrate on what I can control and that’s on the field and let everything else take care of itself.

“Will Capello give me as much chance as Beckham of getting into the squad? You would like to think so. He has proved that in selections before. He will play the players on merit and on form.

“We want to take the best possible squad to a World Cup and it is a good thing that the manager will hopefully have difficult decisions to take.

“If he knows his squad already, it is too easy for him and not a good thing so the more pressure you can put on the manager to have difficult decisions to make, the better it is for England.

“You want everyone to have a level playing field and an equal chance to get into the team and get a chance to prove who should be in the squad.”

Beckham is unavailable for the Brazil match because of commitments with Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS play-offs, so Milner is in with a chance of winning his sixth cap this weekend.

After an impressive debut as a substitute against Holland in August, Milner is regarded by Capello as an intriguing prospect, but the Italian thinks the same about Young and even Stewart Downing – both team-mates of Milner’s at Villa.

Milner acknowledges that competing against his club colleagues for a place isn’t ideal, but he believes it is good for Villa to have so many players in contention for the World Cup.

The 23-year-old also welcomes the challenge presented by fit-again Chelsea winger Cole.

Milner said: “You want the best squad possible so it is a good thing to have Joe Cole getting fit again. He is a top player and I can learn a lot off him watching him play.

“It is a good thing he is coming back fit and hopefully we can get as many England players as fit as we can to go there with the strongest possible squad.

“Joe Cole has got fantastic ability. He seems to have changed a bit as a player as he has got older but he has got fantastic ability and can play in a few positions and is a top, top player.

“It is also great to have Stewart nearly fit. He was a regular with England squads before his injury and is a top player.”

LONDON COLNEY, England (AFP)

Tags: Aaron Lennon, aston villa, big game, bit part, David Beckham, difficult decisions, fabio capello, flanks, frank lampard, game experience, James Milner, Joe Cole, john terry, media coverage, pundits, Steven Gerrard, theo walcott, wayne rooney, winger

Ferguson keeps faith with Foster

September 25, 2009

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has decided against dropping Ben Foster following an erratic display by the England goalkeeper in last weekend’s derby win over Manchester City.

With United’s first-choice keeper, Edwin van der Sar, still sidelined with broken fingers, Ferguson gave Foster a vote of confidence by confirming he would start the Premier League match at Stoke on Saturday.

Tomasz Kuszczak had made a strong case for promotion above Foster in the United pecking order with a confident display and a clean sheet in the League Cup win over Wolves on Wednesday.

But Ferguson continues to regard Foster as a better long-term prospect and does not want to risk further undermining the Englishman’s confidence after he gifted City their first goal in United’s 4-3 win at Old Trafford.

“It was a good opportunity for Tomasz to play on Wednesday but Ben will play tomorrow,” Ferguson said Friday. “Ben has not had a lot of game experience but he will be OK.”

Stoke provide a tough test for any goalkeeper with their effectiveness at set-plays and the long-throws of Rory Delap requiring good command of the penalty area.

Ferguson expects van der Sar to take another three weeks to complete his recovery from breaking two fingers in a pre-season game against Bayern Munich in July.

MANCHESTER (AFP)