Try your hand at being Capello…

Now that the season is entering its final stages, very soon a giant magnifying glass will turn onto the players who may or may not make the England squad for South Africa.

For some, it’s a race against time - with physical and emotional injuries to repair - whilst others will be battling to hit top form between now and the campaign’s end. It’s all to play for, so now is s good a time as any to start with the predictions.

Ledley King - Really?

Time was when the England centre back berth was keenly contested by a group of players who could probably stroll into any other team on the planet. There’s a rich tradition at the back - Bobby Moore, Phil Thompson, Terry Butcher, Tony Adams, Des walker, Sol Campbell. Not to mention the lesser names of Mark Wright, Keown, Carragher, Woodgate during the small window of time before his body revolted, Southgate regardless of THAT penalty. The list is actually endless.

All of which makes the current dearth of World Cup contenders all the more remarkable, and slightly worrying. Both Ferdinand and Terry have endured seasons to forget, and the back up of Upson and Lescott will hardly fill the nation with confidence.

The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Fernando Amorebieta to Liverpool
Rafa’s men are very popular in the Basque region, but this might change if Bilbao’s prized defender heads to England. Marca believe he would cost €12m (£10m).

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: That’s a lot of money for a 24-year-old who has yet to represent his country at the top level. Perhaps Hull’s Michael Turner would be a better option.

Sol Campbell to Newcastle
At the end of his Portsmouth contract, Big Sol said he would like to go somewhere with some stability, so naturally, he has been linked with one of the few clubs that are less stable than his current one.

The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Franck Ribery to Chelsea
Despite expressing his desire to join old pal Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, Roman Abramovich will personally fly to Deutschland to thrash out a £40m deal for the handsome winger, say The Sun.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has made it very clear that no amount of money will persuade the club to part with the Bundesliga’s best player, and the man himself has always said he would prefer to play somewhere sunny. Somewhere like Spain, not Munich or London. We can’t see Ribery going anywhere this season, but next year he will almost certainly leave Germany.

Joleon Lescott to Manchester City
The Daily Mail believe the England defender will finally make his dragged-out move to Eastlands in the next 36 hours, as Everton have begrudgingly accepted a £20m plus add-ons deal.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: It’s clear that Lescott is keen to move on,

The latest transfer gossip, news and damned lies…

Matthew Upson to Manchester City
While David Moyes continues to bear hug Joleon Lescott, growling at anyone who comes near him, the Citizens will instead look to the West Ham defender, say The Guardian.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Mark Hughes has also reportedly identified Sylvian Distin as a potential replacement for Richard Dunne. He may not have enjoyed the best of form last season, but shouldn’t they just stick with their captain and four-time player of the year?

Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona
The Times believe the Catalan giants have turned their attentions back to the young Spaniard after failing to secure the services of Javier Mascherano. Apparently, an offer of £25m will be offered. Mathematicians will note that this is nowhere near the £40m rumoured to have been offered a few months ago.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: We are willing to bet a Penguin bar and half a jar of crunhcy peanut butter that Fabregas will

The latest transfer news, gossip and damned lies

Robinho to Barcelona
The Brazilian forward has responded to speculation that the treble winners could be interested in signing him by telling Spanish newspaper Sport: “Barcelona are a great team and everybody would love to play for them.”

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Financially, there is no pressure on Manchester City to sell so Robinho is only likely to leave if Mark Hughes feels he can get someone better in.

Heurelho Gomes to PSV
In 90% of Spurs’ games last season, Gomes was one of Spurs’ best players and a vital part of the best home defence in the Premier League. However, The Mirror only remember the mistakes and expect him to be offloaded to fund a

Wigan staff try to help one another win Fabio Capello over

Fabio Capello has named a number of unlikely candidates in his England squads over the last twelve months: Joe Lewis, Michael Mancienne, Jimmy Bullard and Carlton Cole to name a few. However, Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has pushed the boundaries even further by tipping Titus Bramble for a call-up.

The Wigan defender, famed for screw-ups like the ones in the video above, has had a good season but surely still has some way to go before he can justify the label “international standard”, especially considering many other English centre-backs like Phil Jagielka, Matthew Upson and Gary Cahill have impressed this year.

However, talking up one another’s England prospects appears to be in vogue right now at the JJB, as Steve Bruce, who was famously never capped, has put in a good word for Kirkland, labelling him “the best goalkeeper in England”. All that remains now is for Bramble to point out that Bruce should be the next England manager and a perfect triangle will be complete.

The most regrettable transfers in Premier League history

It’s the January window, which means plenty of players are going to trade hands. Some clubs will end up paying far too much money for their new blood (Manchester City have already got the ball rolling on that one), while others will land a player who proves to be a bargain and a regrettable loss for their former employer. A classic example of the latter is Denis Law: Manchester United decided to let their second highest goal scorer of all time leave on a free to rivals City. Law only spent one year at City in his second spell before retiring, but his last goal came in the last game of the 1973-74 season against United. The red side of Manchester needed a win to stay up, but a Law back heel in a 1-0 win confirmed their place in the Second Division for the next season.

With this case study in mind, here’s the Premier League ‘Shouldn’t have let him go XI’…

Brad Friedel (Liverpool to Blackburn, 2000, free)
Friedel only managed 30 starts for Liverpool in three years before he was allowed to move on a free to Blackburn, after failing to displace Sander Westerveld. Since leaving Merseyside, Friedel has been one of the most consistent keepers in the league, while Liverpool have been through Westerveld, Dudek, Chris Kirkland, Pegguy Arphexad and Scott Carson, before settling with current shot stopper Pepe Reina.

Steve Finnan (Fulham to Liverpool, 2003, £3.5m)
Finnan was a key figure in the Cottagers side that won the Second Division and First Division and was a member of the PFA Team of the Year in his first season in the Premiership with them. He managed over 200 appearances for Fulham before moving to Liverpool and winning the League Cup, FA Cup and Champions League in his 5 years on Merseyside.

Jonathan Woodgate (Leeds to Newcastle, 2003, £9m)
In January 2001, Leeds were top of the Premiership. Two years later, they found themselves fighting a relegation battle. Then came the sales of Lee Bowyer, Robbie Fowler and their best defender, Woodgate - unsurprisingly their poor form continued. The following season Woodgate’s value to the team was all too evident when Roque Junior was brought in to fill the gap. Junior looked like he had money on a Leeds relegation as the club conceded 25 goals in the 7 games he played in.

Matthew Upson (Arsenal to Birmingham, 2003, £1m)
Upson only managed 20 league starts in nearly six years at Arsenal before he was sold for half the price they had previously paid for him. He excelled at Birmingam before a £6 million switch to West Ham, where his performances have been rewarded by a call up to the England team. Recent reports have suggested that following the uncertainty of the future of ex-captain William Gallas, Professor Wenger is keen to spend over £10m on bringing him back to Arsenal. If he does rejoin the club, maybe he’d have more luck starting if he changed his name to Mathieu Upsoné.

David Unsworth (Sheffield United to Wigan, 2007, free)
Mr Unsworth wasn’t the biggest success at Wigan - he only managed 10 games for the club. He did, however, manage to score the winning goal with a penalty in Wigan’s last game of the season to keep them in the Premier League. And the side who went down at Wigan’s expense? Sheffield United.