Could anything excite Sky Sports more than a David Beckham fiasco?

Just plant his face square on TV, get 80 million different clips and opinions on his situation….you can tell they’ve run through this routine before. Maybe twice.

And yes, there is good reason for the theatrics today, as Beckham has once again found himself as the top headline with a possible January loan to AC Milan in order to stay fit (please check out that link and Soccernet’s photoshop with Beckham in a Milan uniform. Hysterical.).

The positives: Beckham stays fit now that his MLS season is over, keeps himself in the England mix during the MLS offseason (Fabio Capello has said he needs to do this is he is to be considered for the national squad) and gets some undeniably better competition than in the MLS. And imagine a Kaka, Ronaldinho, Beckham combination in the middle when he plays – pretty entertaining to think about.

Who knows how much he will play at Milan, but there’s no doubt that his right foot still has plenty of juice left in it, and it’s hard to imagine him......read the rest at: http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m10d22-Beckham-to-AC-Milan

This weekend was a nice little break from the EPL as international duty took over. Over here at Wembley, Fabio Capello’s reign as English manager continued to chug along with a 5-1 win against Kazakhstan despite a scoreless first half.

But one of the main issues that came out from the win was the boos that came from the crowd at different points in the game. The ones at the halftime whistle were certainly unnecessary, because although England didn’t score they were certainly controlling the run of play. Any one of Theo Walcott’s runs/crosses could have produced a goal, and while the finishing touch wasn’t there, the five goals in the second half weren’t a shock.

Ashley Cole got his share of boos to for his misplay that led to the lone goal for the visitors. Still, the fans should bite their tongue with the squad continuing to look strong in qualifying under the new leadership. Maybe they’re forgetting the Croatia miseries that still must be fresh in their minds? Worse things have happened than a “subpar” 5-1 victory.....read the rest at: http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m10d13-A-look-back-at-an-international-weekend

 

As we head into this great weekend of EPL matches, the news of the day so far must be the headliner of Soccernet at the moment, which declares that Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are fit for Saturday’s match against Manchester United. I believe I mentioned this could be the case earlier in the week, as the “he won’t play, he won’t play, oh wait, he’s fine” ploy has probably been in existence for as long as sports have been around.

That said, what a relief if the article is correct, because it makes this a mouth-watering fixture as a somewhat stagnant Liverpool squad tries to come up with a statement performance early in the season. Interesting storylines will obviously be the effectiveness of the two returning Liverpool stars and the potential productivity of Wayne Rooney, who is coming off a very strong performance in England’s dismantling of Croatia on Wednesday night. And while United has skated through the first two games without Cristiano Ronaldo, this will be the real test when they hit the hostile environment at Anfield. Can’t wait....

Check out the rest at this link: http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m9d12-Steven-Gerrard-and-Fernando-Torres-set-to-play 

The first mark of Theo Walcott madness today in London? I was wandering down a random street and casually glanced at a souvenir stand that sells those awful knockoff football shirts that look nothing like the real thing and probably come apart the first time through the wash. Someone had obviously gone through the England shirts that morning and ironed on a bunch of “No. 7s” on them all. Get em’ while they’re hot …. literally.

Expanding on Walcott a little more (you’ll have to forgive me, he’s the man of the moment), both Arsene Wenger and Wayne Rooney have made comments to try and keep the hype down. Rooney should know best how an English teenager can get all puffed up and suddenly be expected to carry the island nation. Having personal experience in the area, it’s only natural for the Manchester United forward to try and stop this youngster from going through the same struggles.

But perhaps even a bigger issue at this point is the future of David Beckham, as Golden Balls sat on the bench while Walcott starred last night on the field until replacing him late with the outcome assured. Check out this Soccernet article, in which Beckham is quoted as basically saying he doesn’t expect to play every game and just wants what is best for England.....

Read the rest at: http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m9d11-The-Theo-WalcottDavid-Beckham-question 

http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m9d11-Theo-Walcott-Its-all-in-the-shoes

My favorite story of the day – hat-trick hero Theo Walcott broke a stud off his cleat before halftime of yesterday’s game, but kept the shoes on since he scored a goal and didn’t want to jinx anything. He also said, and I quote from the Guardian article: “The stud had basically just fallen to pieces. That’s why I finished the third goal with my left.”

Fifty bucks says there’s no way he’s washing those game shorts in the near future, which is unfortunate for the others in the England locker room. And that’s gotta make Croatia feel good (oh, I’ll just score this last one with my other foot).

And right after Walcott’s moment in the spotlight, his manager Arsene Wenger was quoted in this Soccernet article as warning against building the youngster up too much and calling it “an exception.” Just a thought here, buttttt maybe you want to just ride that goal-scoring wave until it hits the shore and THEN warn against building him up too early. Just sayin'........Check out the rest at:

 http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m9d11-Theo-Walcott-Its-all-in-the-shoes

Fabio Capello sat on the sidelines, idly watching without any show of expression as the shocker unfolded in front of him. It was like he had England’s 4-1 victory all planned out, and was simply marking off his pregame list.

Be the aggressor at the start? Check.

Score first? Check.

Enter halftime ahead? Check.

Have Theo Walcott score? Check…check….ah hell, give the kid three......

Read the rest at: http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m9d10-Its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-SuperTheo 

Check out the preview for today's big game.

http://www.examiner.com/x-642-Soccer-Examiner~y2008m9d10-Preparing-for-Englands-big-match-today