Montenegro v England review

By David Lee Wheatley

Three Lions stutter to draw

Montenegro played host to England last night amid a hostile atmosphere and managed to grab the point they required to consolidate their position at the head of the group.

England looked as if they meant business from the off, when Rooney saw a slip by the keeper when back-peddling, which prompted him to send a delightful chip goalwards only for the ball to bounce back out off the left-hand post.

Glen Johnson then came forward to fire a storming right-footed effort that bounced off the top of the crossbar via a slight touch by the goalkeeper, according to the officials.

Captain Gerrard went over to take the resultant corner and he found Rooney completely unmarked in the box. The Manchester United forward nodded home to score for a fifth consecutive England appearance.

The away side largely controlled the remainder of the half without creating too many clear-cut opportunities and took a one-goal advantage in at the break.

The second half was a wholly different story, as Montenegro tweaked their formation to put England on the back-foot.

It was clear the Montenegrins had been given instructions to attack every time they gained possession and their vociferous fans got louder and louder in support of their heroes.

England survived several scares, but an equaliser had looked on the cards for the whole of the second period and it duly arrived late on after a massive scramble in the area.

England couldn't reproduce their first half superiority and paid the price in conceding that late goal. Now, they face an uphill task to qualify for the World Cup judging by current form.

The English face three prestigious friendlies followed by three home qualifiers and one away; Moldova, Montenegro and Poland all visit Wembley across September and October of this year, while a long round-trip to Kiev to meet Ukraine immediately follows the Moldova match.

It certainly means that England's fate is in their own hands; should they win all four qualification games then they'll top the group, thus booking a place at Brazil 2014. However, the concern is the lack of consistent performance levels amongst many of the players and that must be rectified to allow the English to appear in the upcoming World Cup finals.

Follow me on Twitter: @davewh1980

Adkins tasked with saving Royals

By David Lee Wheatley


Reading opt for safe pair of hands

Premier League strugglers Reading today announced the appointment of the former goalkeeper and physio Nigel Adkins as their new manager. After trying and failing to lure Gustavo Poyet from Brighton & Hove Albion, owner Anton Zingarevich has turned to the ex-Southampton boss to lead the team away from the relegation trapdoor.

Adkins garnered plenty of experience of promotion campaigns with both Scunthorpe United and Southampton in the past, but has little success to point to in terms of keeping teams up when they’ve been in trouble. Admittedly, he got sacked unfairly by Nicola Cortese earlier this season before he could prove those credentials at St. Mary’s, but lost the fight against relegation from the Championship with Scunthorpe either side of gaining promotion from League One twice.

The back-to-back promotion campaigns he led Southampton through remain his most creditable achievements so far as a manager, but keeping Reading up would rank alongside that if he were to manage the feat. The Berkshire club are seven points adrift of safety with just eight matches remaining, which leaves the Royals in about as perilous a position as they could find themselves in.

More flamboyant men such as Poyet and Paolo Di Canio were strongly linked with the top job at the Madejski, but after negotiations with former Chelsea midfielder Poyet came to no avail, the decision was made to go with the sought-after Adkins. The new man will feel for his predecessor Brian McDermott, who was fired in similar circumstances to his own on March 11; Adkins had been dismissed in January when Southampton were three points clear of the drop zone and he will see the parallels with McDermott’s situation after the former boss led Reading to promotion prior to putting them in a position to possibly stay in the top-flight after a sticky start.

Adkins will have to work with a set of players who aren’t his own and get them suitably motivated to earn a second successive season in the Premier League. Obviously, with no transfers possible at this late stage of the season, the 48-year-old won’t have the opportunity to put his stamp on the playing staff and he may find it difficult to impose his ideas on a squad desperately lacking in confidence and belief.

There’s no doubting Adkins’ ability to get his teams playing attacking and winning football at lower levels, but it may well be too big an ask for him to come in and save a sinking ship. Reading are in dire need of two or three positive results and if they aren’t able to accrue those points early on, then it’s very hard to see the blue-and-white hoops escaping demotion to the Championship once more.

Follow me on Twitter: @davewh1980   

RVW checks in at Carrow Road

By David Lee Wheatley

 

Canaries capture sought-after striker

Norwich City confirmed the signing of 24-year-old striker Ricky Van Wolfswinkel from Sporting Lisbon on Friday, subject to the completion of essential paperwork. The promising Dutch forward has been linked with a number of Europe’s largest clubs over the last couple of years, most recently Tottenham Hotspur. Yet, it is the Canaries that have sealed the capture of a player who is set to enter the prime of his career.

The Dutch international started out with Vitesse Arnhem, prior to a switch to Utrecht that really set his career alight when plundering almost a goal in every two games; his form there prompting Portuguese Primera Liga giants Sporting to pounce on a player with a burgeoning reputation.

His move to Lisbon started wonderfully with 25 goals in all competitions, but the club have had a torrid year this time around and his form has suffered with 13 goals (8 in the league) so far. His potential is undoubted, though, and the player obviously feels now is the right time to step up to one of Europe’s biggest leagues in an effort to show exactly what he is capable of.

The brilliantly-named Van Wolfswinkel will officially sign a four-year deal on July 1^st, subject to the formalities of the move being completed. The one-time capped Dutchman will look to prove his worth to club and country on the commencement of his career at Carrow Road and he’ll surely turn out to be a fantastic signing for City if he fulfils the potential he possesses. The move to Norfolk suggests he’d rather play regularly in the starting line-up as opposed to sitting on the bench at a top-six side, showing a great eagerness which bodes well for his new club.

The transfer appears to be a win-win for the player and Norwich City, as the club will benefit from having a top striker in their ranks while the player will get a fair opportunity to show that he can mix it at the that level. If all goes according to plan, Van Wolfswinkel will begin attracting the attention of top clubs once again, but he’ll have garnered the required experience of Premier League football to allow him to prosper on the highest stage.

Canaries boss Chris Hughton trawled the world looking for quality new strikers in the January transfer window and he’s finally got his man with the capture of the Sporting star. The signing promises exciting times ahead for the Carrow Road faithful, as the club look to cement themselves in the top-flight of English football.  

Follow me on Twitter: @davewh1980

Montenegro challenge awaits England

By David Lee Wheatley

Crunch time

England put all the hullabaloo surrounding Rio Ferdinand to one side on Friday evening by thrashing minnows San Marino away 8-0.

Tomorrow night will be a very different proposition, as emerging nation Montenegro stand in the way of Roy Hodgson's men.

The group leaders will provide a stern test of England's credentials and the visiting side must block out the partisan crowd in an effort to concentrate fully on the task in hand.

England need to claim victory in Podgorica to claim top spot in a tricky group, which also includes Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland and Ukraine, and they'll have to be at their level best.

Teams such as San Marino are still made up largely of amateurs and therefore they have struggled to make any progress since entering the international stage. However, the likes of Montenegro have risen from the ashes of the former Yugoslavia to make some positive inroads toward success. The squad have some quality footballers in the ranks and they've proved their capabilities by rising to the top of a tough qualifying group, alongside impressively drawing with England the last time the sides met at Wembley in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

The English will have taken some confidence from disposing of San Marino clinically in Rimini, but will be fully aware of the threat posed by their next opponents on Tuesday.

It'll be a tight match, but if the stars of the England team perform to their usual standard, they will surely be capable of pulling off a tidy victory to send them a point clear at the top in their quest for a spot at World Cup 2014.

You can follow me on Twitter: @davewh1980