Super subs Fraizer Campbell and Theo Walcott defeat Spain
England are through to the semi-finals of the Euro Under-21 Championship with a game to spare after beating pre-tournament favourites Spain 2-0.
It looked like Stuart Pearce’s side might have blown their chance when James Milner missed a first-half penalty but the 62nd minute introduction of Theo Walcott, to a ridiculous roar from the crowd, turned the game.
Fellow substitute Fraizer Campbell opened the scoring five minutes later before Walcott set up Milner in the 73rd minute to guarantee victory and a place in the semi-finals.
The Aston Villa winger then picked up a rather convenient yellow card for a needless foul late on which means he will serve a suspension during the “nothing” clash with Germany - words you would never expect to hear uttered - rather than missing either the semi-finals or final.
Spurs striker joins Harry Redknapp in singing winger’s praises
Aaron Lennon has been one of Spurs’ better players this season but that has more to do with the fact his fellow midfielders have either been passing sideways or are called David Bentley than because the winger has excelled.
However, the 21-year-old’s recent run of four goals in six games (having scored just one in the previous 51) has prompted Robbie Keane to join Harry Redknapp in talking up his teammate’s England prospects.
“I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t get back in the England squad. He’s a big player for us and is getting better with age. Since I got back to the club I see a more mature player.”
Lennon’s recent form has been reasonably impressive but The Spoiler feels that
Aston Villa’s fortuitous streak continues against Sunderland
While The Spoiler are big Martin O’Neill fans and acknowledge that Aston Villa’s performance has been one of many factors that have made this season so exciting, it would be wrong not to highlight one of the most remarkable runs of luck in recent memory:
Everton 2-3 Aston Villa
Villa were outplayed but snatched victory with a goal scored after the alotted amount of injury time had been played.
Aston Villa 4-2 Bolton
This was one game where O’Neill’s men fully deserved victory after coming from behind.
West Ham 0-1 Aston Villa
Villa’s late winner comes courtesy of the flukiest of own goals by Lucas Neill.
Hey, you love Jesus right? That’s because he was really cool about everything. But what if your nice beardy Jesus man had risen from the dead and returned to earth, livid and suing everyone - Judas, Peter, Herod, Buddha, Satan, Santa, everyone. Then where would your Christianity be? Yeah, exactly, you don’t know.
Which leads us seamlessly to Kevin Keegan, the Newcastle messiah, who is rumoured to be suing the club for £9 million in damages, sobbing about how he was unfairly dismissed, he didn’t want to sell Milner, it was all Llambias’ fault. Could his loyal apostles in the Toon Army really stand by him should he leave such a long smudge on the Newcastle history books?
BBC Radio Newcastle are reporting that Kevin Keegan is currently having crisis talks with the club’s hierarchy after becoming frustrated by the sale of first-team players.
There are rumours circulating that he may have walked already and King Kev is now a tiny 1.38 (approximately 4/11) on Betfair to be the first Premier League manager to leave their post.
As the clock ticks ever closer to the slamming shut of the transfer window, clubs have decided it’s high time to start splurging money around like crazy folk. Make no mistake, James Milner is a decent player to have hurtling around for your side, but at £12 million, it screams of a panic buy. More importantly, who could he possibly dislodge from the team?
Thus far, no news on Barry suddenly repacking his suitcase.
Peter Kenyon triumphantly told everyone that Robinho would arrive within 48 hours on Wednesday and Frank Lampard told the press that the Brazilian was “fantastic”, but then a couple of Real Madrid targets - Valencia’s David Villa and Villarreal’s Santi Cozorla – decided to stay put, so now it looks like the light-footed winger will be zooming down the wings in sunny Spain after all. Joe Cole - permission to stop sweating.
Henrik Larsson to Tottenham
Andrei Arshavin has conceded there is little chance of him moving to Spurs this summer, which leaves the North London club searching through the thousandth page of their striker shortlist. Henrik Larsson is today’s target, but Everton are also interested.
The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: He’s 37 next month, but Spurs can’t afford to be too picky right now.
We’re barely ten days into the new season and already the weather is playing havoc with the ability of some of the more sensitive stars to perform their duties satisfactorily. Vidic says it’s too rainy. Savage says its too cold. Now Newcastle’s not-for-much-longer midfielder James Milner has joined the list.
Although he left Coventry’s Ricoh Arena with the Man of the Match champagne in his handbag on Tuesday, Milner wasn’t having anything to do with reporters eager to discover who he might be planning to share it with. Why the silence? Could Milner be another victim of this season’s weather madness?
In Lee Ryder’s Blog on the Tyne in yesterday’s Newcastle Chronicle, he describes a similar episode
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