UEFA U21 Championship Group B: ENGLAND v CZECH REPUBLIC 2045 Viborg "Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards'" - Soren Kierkegaard, 1813-185 5 No one wore his heart on his sleeve qu ite like he did as a player. Some said he embodied 'England' more than anyone since Bobby Moore. Before a UEFA cup tie with Nottingham Forest, in the 'going over the top' military speak which English manhood has always drawn on, Stuart Pearce told his troops, who included the Dutch maestro Bryan Roy and the elegant Norwegian playmaker Lars Bohinen, "Your hearts are bigger than theirs - that's why you were born English!" Blond locks and a bulldog spirit, rippling muscles and at the base of a tree-trunk leg a cannon of a left foot which billowed many a net and sent several right-wingers to casualty. Pearce of England, or should that be Ing-ger-lund. When the beleaguered Graham Taylor needed a boost, he recalled the out-of-form left-back and made him England captain, demoting his former star pupil David Platt in confident hope that the Wealdstone-born defender's warrior cult would inspire his struggling team; Pearce would not have been out of place in Beowulf. He skippered his country but fell short of honours, reaching nothing beyond the European Championship and World Cup semi-finals. But physical retirement only mea nt a transfer of ambition to the other side of the touchline. There the similarity with his success as a player began to wane, as it has with so many great footballers. A brief spell with a disintegrating Forest led to an assistant managership spell at Manchester City alongside another English lionheart Kevin Keegan. Pearce assumed Keegan's role eventually but City performed without flair or success and he was fired in 2007. Luckily a few months before then he had entered the England set-up despite a relative lack of coaching experience. Pearce quietly slipped into being the No.2 to Fabio Capello in 2008, as well remaining in charge of the Under 21s.He is unlikely to take over from the Italian in 2012, but surely has his eyes on the prize as any Englishman so close to the top job would. At the very least he wants Under 21 glory in Europe and to coach the UK's Olympic Team next autumn. But after a humiliating drubbing by Germany's youngsters in Euro 2009 in Sweden, and two disappointing draws in Euro 2011, now 'Psycho' maybe only has 90 minutes to save his bacon tonight in Viborg. His England U21s are clearly pining for the enlightened feet of Jack Wilshere and the marauding forward play of Andy Carroll, but still have no excuses for the moribund fare they have served up in Denmark so far. A sterling defence is about the only laurel wreath on Pearce's head right now. Frank Fielding is a talented goalkeeper and in the raiding full-back Kyle Walker and the old hea d on young shoulders that is Phil Jones, England have some of the best players in the competition. But a clueless midfield and insipid attack, apart from the mis-employed Dean Sturridge, mean England are failing to impose themselves on opponents. They were lucky to snatch a draw from a more talented Spain, and while the Swiss are looking a class apart in Group A, it is hard to feel confident that Pearce's young lions will get the result they cr ave against the able Czechs. A draw is not enough and sooner or later England's lack of firepower will be found out. Perhaps he is too much like Keegan - all Henry V and no Hamlet. So what can he do?He could look to his current locality to find inspiration. Now it is unlikely Pearce has been sitting up reading Soren Kierkegaard but given two lacklustre showings by his team he really coul d do worse than plunder Denmark's great philosopher for ideas. 'Psycho' might baulk and some of the thinker's bestselling titles - 'Fear & Trembling', 'Th e Concept of Anxiety' and 'The Sickness unto Death' as too close to the knuckle of his England undertaking, but would surely relate to some of the maxims Kierkegaard devised while trudging the gentle sands of the Zealand coast. Like Pearce, Kierkegaard believed that "It is impossible to exist without passion" and that passion should translate into an undying and invisible belief in what you are doing. So far so similar. "Faith is the highest passion in a human being," he wrote, adding crucially, "but only after reflection." At times it seems Pearce still believes, as he did as a player, that passion alone can carry you to victory, an Anglo-Saxon masculine tenet that sustained its football for years but seems wholly obsolete amid the age of tiki-taka. "Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thoughts...Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are." Pearce was a limited player and it appears a limited manager, but honest introspection should show him the way forward as the U21 coach. England's midfield and attack do not play in tandem and revert to hopeful balls instead of possession and getting rid of it instead of passing it out of danger, in a throwback to the past. Pearce needs to admit they are failing, even if he does not tell it to the press, and alter their teamwork. "It seems essential, in relationships and all tasks, that we concentrate only on what is most significant and important." So win at all costs? Perhaps that is the whole point of a football match. And maybe Pearce believes his boys are so limited it is too late to re-educate them tactically and technically, and that a backs-to-the-wall English approach is all he can muster. "Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living. Patience is necessary, and one cannot reap immediately where one has sown." True enough, but Pearce has been in charge of England U21 since early 2007 and if anything the team has regressed since Euro 2009. Yet something, whether toni ght, in the knock-out stages in Denmark or at next summer's Olympic Games, has to change in order for England to achieve. And Pearce should be prepared to re-evaluate his core beliefs and be bold enough to change them: "To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself." After had his tears at fluffing the crucial penalty at Italia '90 were replayed around the world, followed by his equally public self-exorcism at Euro '96 when he successfully converted penalties against Germany and Spain, the former Forest favourite does not fear public failure. He is still a hard man, inside and outside, though perhaps that is part of the problem. "Trouble is the common denominator of living. It is the great equalizer." If reading Kierkegaard, Pearce would get depressed and disillusioned that he had taken the thinker's best-known maxim too literally - "The most noble thing in life is to die for an idea" - then he should at least console himself at the height of battle that no one questions his pride in wearing the three lions.That much respect for his devotion will remain even if England are eliminated tonight. With the wolves of Fleet Street snapping at your heels and the expectations of a nation on top of you, managing England is no walk in the park. Or as Kierkegaard said, "Only the noble of heart are called to difficulty." And if at the end of the day, Kierkegaard is too much for Pearce, then there is always Hans Christian Andersen. Group B Spain pts 4 GD +2Czech Rep pts 3 GD -1England pts 2 GD -Ukraine pts 1 GD -1 Tonight (both 20:45) - England v Czech Republic (Viborg), Spain v Ukraine (Herning). (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

UEFA U21 Championship Group B England 0:0 Ukraine Att: 3,495 England and Ukraine su rvive after a goalless but entertaining clash here in Herning, but both now face do-or-die showdowns with the Czechs and Spanish respectively after they failed to find the net in Jutland this evening. With Spain on four points and the Czechs on three, England on two and the Ukraine with a point know that nothing less than victory will do on Sunday. With both teams hungry for a win, a fast-paced opening duly arrived and it was the yellow jerseys of the Ukraine, backed by a noisy support from the ranks of Jutland's expat agricultural workers, who bared their teeth first. Denys Garmash, the attacking midfielder from Dynamo Kyiv who has gained some admiring glances already, won a corner deflected off Phil Jones with a snapshot on the edge of the area in the seventh minute. Soon afterwards the Ukrainians confirmed their attacking desire when Yevhen Konoplyanka let rip with a 20 yard missile which Frank Fielding dove quickly to parry away. The Dnipro midfielder was the chief protagonist , dribbling at speed, switching positions and shooting from distance. England needed to stand firm as the yellow shirts attacked with alacrity, and some of their stratospheric clearances betrayed their nerves at being on the back foot. Familiar failings were to the fore again for Stuart Pearce's men, who looked unlikely to threaten the Ukrainian goal in the first half hour, ruining a number of moves with yet more hopeful but dispiriting pumps upfield. But suddenly a spark of hope came in the 33rd minute. Michael Mancienne threaded a pass through the middle to Daniel Sturridge and the Chelsea striker let fly on the half-volley from fully 30 yards out and whacked the crossbar with the goalkeeper flailing. England finished the half the stronger, with left-flanker Danny Rose obeying Pearce's vocal exhortations to take on Ukraine's pedestrian right-back Bohdan Butko. Ukraine resumed their dominance after the break, though Daniel Welbeck, under pressure eight minutes into the half, almost snatched the lead from a route one chase chipped wide of goal. Instead of passing through the Ukrainians, England seemed to b e seeking the spectacular. Mancienne, still exploring his unfamiliar midfield anchoring role, tried his luck from 30 yards out rather than prolong a promising move on the deck. England were out of ideas in the middle again, and unlike against Spain, failing to make headway on the wings. Pearce had seen enough, hauling off Rose and the disappointing Jack Rodwell three minutes before the hour mark. The yellows sought a second wind, and coach Pavlo Yakovenko took the reins and pulled his ball wizard Konoplyanka off in the 65th, his high-octane motor having run out of petrol at last. Four minutes later Garmash drew a diving save from 20 yards out and striker Roman Zozulya came on for the ineffective Artem Kravets and glanced a header a couple of yards wide soon afterwards. A nil-nil looked likelier as the clock counted down, until Ukraine got a stroke of luck eight minutes from time. Garmash ran at the England centre-backs a nd his through-ball caromed off Jones into the path of Zozulya, whose snapshot was blocked by an alert Fielding. Along with the old head on young shoulders that was Phil Jones, the Derby custodian was England's best performer. England sub Henri Lansbury rifled an effort a yard wide three minutes later at the other end, confirming it was not yet game over. Sturridge aped him in the 86th, before Welbeck's header from a Lansbury corner brought a goalline save. No more chances emerged and the two nations tripped off knowing they will have no more excuses over 90 minutes on Sunday. For England, a stout defence provides hope of avoiding defeat once more, but a fragmented outfield with midfield and attack rarely in unison and a conf used attacking policy which relies too much on ineffective hit-and-hope balls do not hint at progression. The Ukrainians by contrast will have to find a plan B after their energetic attacking, however fine it is to behold, ran out of steam in the second half and failed to spring a watertight backline. England (4-1-2-3) - Frank Fielding, Michael Mancienne (Fabrice Muamba 89'), Ryan Bertrand, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Jordan Henderson, Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Kyle Walker, Jack Rodwell (Henri Lansbury 58'), Danny Rose (Scott Sinclair 58') Ukraine (4-2-3-1) - Anton Kanibolotskiy, Bohdan Butko, Yevhen Selin, Yaroslav Rakiskiy, Yevhen Konoplyanka (Andriy Yarmolenko 65'), Oleg Golodyuk, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Maxym Biliy, Volodymyr Chesnakov, Denys Garmash, Artem Kravets (Roman Zozulya 70') Total shots - Ukraine 10, England 15 Ball possession - Ukraine 52%, England 48% Cautions - Ukraine 4, England 2 Sunday 2045 : England v Czech Republic (Viborg), Spain v Ukraine (Herning) Group B standings Spain pld 2 pts 4 Czech Rep pld 2 pts 3 England pld 2 pts 2 Ukraine pld 2 pts 1 (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

Gareth Bale has been chosen the players' Player of the Year at the PFA awards in London. The Tottenham flyer won the vote from his peer s following some explosive left-sided displays for his club in Europe, notably in Spurs' defeats of Inter and Milan, which have left the 21 year-old Welshman one of the most coveted men in football. Arsenal's Samir Nasri came second, with Man City's Carlos Tevez third. The Gunners' Jack Wilshere won the Young Player of the Year Award, after the 19 year-old midfielder broke into Arsene Wenger's first eleven and the full England national team. PFA Premier League Team of the Year 2011: Van der Sar (Man Utd), Sagna (Arsenal), Cole (Chelsea), Vidic (Man Utd), Kompany (Man City), Nani (Man Utd), Nasri (Arsenal), Wilshere (Arsenal), Bale (Spurs), Tevez (Man City), Berbatov (Man Utd). (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Tags World Cup Pens World Cup Posters Euro 2012 football

Wayne Rooney is threatening to leave Manchester United after another row with nice Mr Ferguson...Didn’t Beckham, Stam, Van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo fall out with Sir Alex too before heading for the exit at Old Trafford? I still seem to be the only person who does not think Fergie is a football genius. Former Manchester City coach Malcolm Allison , who died this week aged 83, was best-known for his 1970s image – the fedora, cigars, nightclubs and glamour girls, as well as his rebranding of Crystal Palace as ‘the Eagles’, but he also had a sh rewd soccer brain. He had realised by the early 1950s that English football was tactically obsolete, but unlike most, fought hard to do something about it through innovative coaching. He won the league and European Cup Winners’ Cup with City (the last all-English champions of England), turned down Juventus and won a Portuguese championship with Sporting Lisbon. Charismatic and flamboyant in public to the point of ridicule he was, yet he remained a sound judge of the game, and like many a English manager with continental leanings, was consistently overlooked by the myopic Football Association.

2010 World Cup Qualifiers European zone – UEFA Group six: Second place race wide open as England goes clearThe WC qualifiers in the European zone have reached the halfway stage and England can already relish their presence in South Africa next year. The team that stopped them on the way to the latest European Championships, Croatia, are well aware that this time the best they could achieve is the second place, leading to the additional qualifications in November. In Croatia there was a great deal of discussion as to what score would suit their team best in the game between England and Ukraine. The optimistic minority hoped for a Ukraine win, hoping that that would still give Croatia some chances of overtaking England. Provided, of course, that Slaven Bilic boys emulate their 2007 feat when they won by 3-2.

The J. League gears up for a five week recess following this weekend's round of action, with plenty at stake for clubs at both ends of the table. Consadole Sapporo kick off the weekend against Nagoya Grampus, and the two sides could hardly be experiencing more contrasting fortunes. Sapporo remain second-from-bottom despite their most recent 2-1 win away at Omiya Ardija. Second placed Nagoya were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Vissel Kobe in their most recent clash, with both of those matches taking place in atrocious conditions as wet weather continues to plague the league. There's a high profile clash at Saitama Stadium as Urawa Reds host Gamba Osaka, and the Reds can thank an errant linesman's flag for their 1-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale at a packed Todoroki Stadium last weekend. Edmilson had opened the scoring from the penalty spot for Urawa, however Kawasaki looked to have equalised through Hiroyuki Taniguchi - only for his effort to be chalked off due to an offside flag, despite the fact that Urawa midfielder Nobuhisa Yamada appeared to be playing Taniguchi onside. Kyoto Sanga FC have dropped into the relegation zone following a 1-0 defeat away at bottom club JEF United, and they will take on Yokohama F. Marinos in the unfamiliar surrounds of Kagoshima's Kamoike Stadium. Kyoto have attracted large crowds to their Nishikyogoku Stadium home this season, however they cannot rely on home advantage when they 'host' Marinos at the 36,000-capacity Kamoike Stadium on the southern island of Kyushu - hundreds of kilometres from their Kyoto base. Elsewhere Jubilo Iwata take on high-flying FC Tokyo at Yamaha Stadium, Kashima Antlers host Kashiwa Reysol, bottom club JEF United welcome Oita Trinita to the Fukuda Denshi Arena, Kawasaki Frontale take on Omiya Ardija at Todoroki Stadium, while on Sunday Vissel Kobe take on Albirex Niigata and Tokyo Verdy welcome Shimizu S-Pulse to Ajinomoto Stadium looking to avenge a recent 5-0 thrashing in the League Cup. In J2 the highlight fixtures see Sagan Tosu host Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Cerezo Osaka welcome second placed Shonan Bellmare to Nagai Stadium, Vegalta Sendai take on mid-table Montedio Yamagata, while Yokohama FC clash with Avispa Fukuoka at Mitsuzawa Stadium. J1 clubs will return to league action on June 28, however the three final group stage games of the Nabisco League Cup are set down for May 25, May 31 and June 8. Alex Miller signs on as coach of JEF United Having sacked Croatian coach Josip Kuze just 24-hours after claiming that he had the club's full support, JEF United have signed former Rangers star and Liverpool first-team coach Alex Miller to take over as coach of the embattled Chiba side. Miller watched from the stands as United beat Kyoto Sanga FC under the watchful eye of assistant coach Shigeo Sawairi, but the Scotsman will need to make a swift transition from the English Premier League to the J. League, with the Chiba Dogs still five points behind Consadole Sapporo at the foot of the table. The cashed-up United will reportedly pay Miller an annual salary of 500,000 pounds and they are also keen on trying to lure unsettled Newcastle United striker Michael Owen to the J. League. Owen came through the ranks at Liverpool during Miller's time as first-team coach, and with the Chiba side desperate to find a goalscorer - they've scored a paltry nine goals in 12 games played this season, United could be set to launch an audacious bid for the England star. AFC Champions League Gamba Osaka booked their place in the knock-out stages of the AFC Champions League by beating Thai outfit Chonburi FC 2-0 at Supachalasai Stadium in Bangkok on May 7. Substitute Masato Yamazaki opened the scoring for the Osakans just seconds after entering the fray, before Lucas Severino wrapped up the points with a late second. Gamba have an unassailable lead at the top of Group G with one match remaining. Kashima Antlers, meanwhile, are locked in a neck-and-neck battle with Beijing Guoan FC for a place in the final eight. The two sides are locked on 12 points with one game remaining, however with Kashima possessing a vastly superior goal difference, the Ibaraki outfit will progress should the two teams remain level on points at the end of the group stage. Defending champions Urawa Reds will join the competition at the quarter-final stage, with the draw set to be announced on May 24. Japan National Teams Takeshi Okada has named his squad for the upcoming Kirin Cup set to take place between May 22 - 27, with European-based trio Shunsuke Nakamura, Daisuke Matsui and Makoto Hasebe all receiving call-ups. Kawasaki Frontale defender Yusuke Igawa was the only surprise inclusion, although Urawa midfielder Keita Suzuki and strikers Seiichiro Maki and Ryoichi Maeda of JEF United and Jubilo Iwata were also called up, despite having missed much of the season through injury so far. Japan take on the Ivory Coast on May 24, before clashing with Paraguay three days later. Meanwhile Japan under-23 coach Yasuharu Sorimachi has dropped lanky FC Tokyo striker Sota Hirayama from a squad that will take part in an international tournament at the end of the month, preferring instead to call up Catania striker Takayuki Morimoto and Urawa Reds youngster Sergio Escudero. Japan take on the Netherlands, hosts France and Chile at the Toulon international tournament, with particular interest in the clash between the Netherlands and Japan, who face each other in Group B of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The USA and Nigeria are Japan's other opponents at the Olympics, with Sorimachi's team looking to become the first to win a medal since Japan claimed bronze at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Copyright © Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com J.League News Tags Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

World Cup Qualifiers Schedule The race towards South Africa starts in August Fabio Capello has his work cut out for him. England start their qualifying campaign for the next World Cup on September 6th away to Andorra four days before meeting their recent nemesis Croatia in Zagreb. Present at the negotiations in the Sheraton Hotel in the Croatian capital were David Rodrigo of Andorra, Arno Pijpers of Kazakhstan, Bernd Tange of Belarus, Aleksei Mikhailichenko of Ukraine plus Capello and the host Slaven Bilic. It took six and a half hours in Zagreb for the six coaches from the teams in the England's group to reach an agreement on the calendar and in the end both Capello and Bilic claimed they were very happy with the outcome. The Ukrainians were reportedly the least satisfied as they didn't want to play in June of 2009 and ended up having to visit Croatia and entertain the same team in the space of four days. "I thank Belarus and Andorra for accepting some compromises, as without them it would have been difficult to reach the agreement," said the Croatian coach, who was only unhappy with the trip to Belarus on August 19th next year. "It's FIFA's date for friendlies so we'll be able to count on our internationals just three days before the trip," moaned Bilic. Capello on the other hand stated he got exactly what he wanted – an easy opener with Andorra, a relatively lightweight rival in Belarus for the closure and both Croatian games in September. Group 6 – qualifying calendar 2008 20th August Kazakhstan vs. Andorra 6th September Croatia vs. Kazakhstan Andorra vs. England Ukraine vs. Belarus 10th September Croatia vs. England Andorra vs. Belarus Kazakhstan – Ukraine 11th October Ukraine vs. Croatia England vs. Kazakhstan 15th October Croatia vs. Andorra Belarus vs. England 2009 1st April Andorra vs. Croatia England vs. Ukraine Kazakhstan vs. Belarus 6th June Croatia vs. Ukraine Kazakhstan vs. England Belarus vs. Andorra 10th June Ukraine vs. Kazakhstan England vs. Andorra 19th August Belarus vs. Croatia 5th September Croatia vs. Belarus Ukraine vs. Andorra 9th September England vs. Croatia Belarus vs. Ukraine Andorra – Kazakhstan 10th October Ukraine vs. England Belarus vs. Kazakhstan 14th October Kazakhstan vs. Croatia Andorra vs. Ukraine England vs. Belarus Note: Only the group champions qualify for the World Cup directly, and the second placed team enter an additional qualification round against another of the eight best runners' up out of the total of nine European zone groups. England games 2008. Andorra vs England (Sep 6th) Croatia vs England (Sep 10th) England vs Kazakhstan (Oct 11th) Belarus vs England (Oct 15th) 2009. England vs Ukraine (Apr 1st) Kazakhstan vs England (June 6th) England vs Kazakhstan (June 10th) England vs Croatia (Sep 9th) Ukraine vs England (Oct 10th) England vs Belarus (Oct 14th) Copyright Soccerphile & Ozren Podnar Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football England World Cup Betting