England on the verge, but it's just the beginning!
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- Written by Darren Douglas
After England's 4-0 win away at Kazakhstan on Saturday and the draw that followed it later that evening between nearest group rivals Croatia and Ukraine, Capello and his men are now tantalisingly close to World Cup qualification and South Africa in 2010. The performance may not have been the most convincing, but professional was probably the most frequent and polite description of how England overcame the Kazakhstanis in Almaty.
In the extreme unlikelihood that the Ukraine will fail to defeat Kazakhstan tonight, England would be all but mathematically certain to win the group and be qualified, again withstanding any heroics by Belarus or Croatia in their remaining fixtures. So on that basis we can start to plan ahead for next summer already, my concern is that we will face an increasing frenzy of hype as the next domestic season continues.
The patience of a sheikh
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- Written by David Moftakhar
Billionaire football club owners aren’t synonymous with patience. You only have to look at the managerial carousels at Chelsea and QPR to see that. However, at the Middle-Eastlands - the most heavily landed gentry of the lot - things are playing themselves out a little differently.
Once the oil rich royalty from Abu Dhabi took over at Manchester City, it appeared as though Mark Hughes’s days were numbered. Breaking the British transfer record for Robinho and shouting the odds about signing Kaka, Messi and Ronaldo, the quiet and unassuming Welshman’s position seemed tenuous.
Let’s learn about…Leicester City: Part Two
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- Written by Ian Shine
It was at the start of the 2004/05 season that the managerial merry-go-round really started turning.
Mickey Adams was sacked in October and Howard Wilkinson was brought in as a stop gap before Craig Levein was lured from Hearts to take the job on a permanent basis.
Let’s learn about…Leicester City
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- Written by Ian Shine
As part of a new series here on 90minutes, we’ll be looking at all of this season’s promoted teams.
It begins with Leicester City, who were promoted from League One as champions after finally finding some measure of managerial stability.
Barry is an unwelcome Villain, whilst rumours continue unabated
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- Written by Darren Douglas
So Gareth Barry finally moved from the club 'who's result I'll always look for first'. The fact that he has ended up moving to Manchester City for £12million raises inevitable questions about his motivation. If rumours were to be believed and logic dictated, it seemed likely that Aston Villa were going to have to cut their losses on a player who only had a year remaining on his contract. The most obvious target was of course Barry's long-term suitors of last summer, Liverpool.
Barry had explained last summer that a move to Liverpool was motivated by the ambition to play in the Champions League and to rise to the challenge of the next competitive level. This is a fair argument and one that could be grudgingly accepted in the PR stakes. When the transfer became increasingly strained Barry survived making disparaging remarks about the club and Martin O'Neill, and in the end he won back the majority of fans with his performances- even if the trust was no longer there.