It’s been an arduous winter for England footballers. Why are so many of our top international players unable to stay fit? David James has played once since November, in limbo with clubs currently and desperate for fitness and quality first team games. Ready to pounce in his place between the net is Joe Hart. Very inexperienced he might be at international level but he is knocking hard on the door of the starting X1 especially after so many back to back great performances for Birmingham.

Glen Johnson only 25 years old, should be hitting his prime, instead he is hitting the physio’s bench. I question his ability as a solid right back anyway; in fact I struggle to select right back in the country who is world class. This is the area I feel is a weak link for England. Notable others are Micah Richards who’s been poor for Manchester City and Manchester United’s Wes Brown who isn’t really consistent but maybe perhaps the only real answer. No doubt with such a huge weakness on the right, opposition coaches will look to expose us with pacey left wingers.

Partnering Captain Terry should be Rio Ferdinand but he faces the realisation that at 31 years old injuries are harder to come back from. If he fails to fully recover other options for centre-back cover are Matthew Upson, Lescott who’s injured himself and the rarely fit for long but incredibly talented Ledley King.

Wide right we would expect Walcott to be causing havoc whipping up and down the wing, sadly the Arsenal youngster is far too injury prone. On the other hand veteran David Beckham who’s sporting a new tattoo of Jesus is still around and looking good for AC Milan but could he start every game at World Cup level? If not Aaron Lennon seems pretty much in the frame now and has progressed well over the last 12 months and would be a reasonable plan B.

My biggest concern in midfield is the maestro that is Steven Gerrard, a player with the ability to win a game and beat teams single handedly. The Liverpool playmaker has struggled with hamstring and groin problems and furthermore has possible surgery impending. On the upside there is Joe Cole, a great player who is back on the up but at present lacking first team games and match fitness. And there is always James Milner a brilliant player according to Martin O’Neill, also a great deputy across the midfield. Out of the question it might be, but imagine how England could solve a few defensive frailties if only Milner could play at right back.

It seems up front we have the least injury problems, but the concern there is all together different. Who exactly is the right striker to partner Wayne Rooney in attack? Sir Alex has expressed that doesn’t fancy Rooney and Owen together for United, but if they hit it off as an attacking force they would have 5 months playing together to create a synergy that could be prolific. Other obvious contenders are Defoe, Crouch, Heskey and Cole.

Despite the fitness problems all over the pitch, and with one friendly left before the start of the World Cup the right selection of strikers may just prove to be the biggest pain in Capello’s neck.

This week Manager Roberto Mancini said he plans to overhaul his Manchester City players' pre-match meal, introducing pizza and wine to the menu. In reaction to his comments most other gaffer’s around the country were against it, some even appalled by the idea and few supported the Italians method.

Most clubs consider themselves bang up to date with sports science and nutrition methods, Sam Alladyce claiming to practically run his sessions using the most stringent scientific approaches, but I believe there is actually some real mileage in the Mancini’s proposal.

UK Stats show a quarter of adults are already obese because of our poor British diets, far higher than figures on the continent.

Many studies have extolled the health benefits of a diet high in fruit and vegetables, low in meat and dairy products, and enlivened with a couple of glasses of wine. Italy comes top of countries where people live longest free of a debilitating condition. And of course we can’t forget the feel good factor we experience from food we like. So Mancini it seems is on the money, it’s all about balance.

I for one certainly wouldn’t complain some of perhaps my most favourite days in my life have consisted of football, pizza and wine: the perfect ingredients to a great day!

The difference a day makes (or not)!

New Years Resolutions, how long can we really expect to keep them?

A few weeks, perhaps at a stretch a month for the more disciplined amongst us. Every year I go through the rigmarole of deciding on a resolution, not in a half hearted manner but with full blown thought and enthusiasm. I don’t clutch to the usual single minded ‘lose weight’ or ‘get a pay rise’ type, instead I carefully choose a resolution that ties in nicely with all aspects of my life. I like to be able to associate the one resolution to various factors of my life; it must be applicable to me as an entity for everything i do. I also like to keep it simple. That’s the idea, good in theory anyway.

As an example, last year I went for two words that I could apply to everything ‘No Waste’. By this I meant: no wasting time, money, food, days off, electricity, water and life in general. See you can apply it to pretty much anything. You can see my trouble here, it’s extremely practical and going to be hard to top this year. Did it work though? Well sometimes yes and other times no. Most importantly I did make changes and it impacted on my life in 2009 in a positive way for the most part anyway. Unfortunately, throughout last year ‘No waste’ didn’t extend to social outings, in fact by far the opposite occurred!

I was pretty happy in 2009 to plod along not wasting ANYTHING, until I go out and get wasted. Yes it is very ladette I know, but I love it, it is fun and an area I excel in. It is at this point that everything ‘No waste’ stands for goes right out of the window. I waste money on drinks that are ludicrously expensive, I waste money on black cabs, I waste great banter on dullards I talk to, waste waste waste! In fairness I sometimes redeem my drunken self by at least not wasting the opportunity to do the caterpillar across the floor. While we are on the subject, it seems that in the 4 years I have lived in London I have worked out I am allergic to the last tube home. This is a regular dilemma I face at midnight when I go out. I always have full intention of getting the last tube every single time I go out, I swear blind I will, I even reassure myself how I need an early night, how I have things to do tomorrow, how I expect to make my 10am spin class. Even so every single time I go out for drinks, it goes frightfully wrong, so wrong. I don’t intend this, it just always turns out that way.

So I have decided that in order to top last year’s resolution and to have it infiltrate my lifestyle in a positive way I need to come up with one single solitary word. Something I can use almost as a mantra, which I can say to myself again and again in situations that require it. I have toyed with ‘new’ ‘now’ and ‘quality’ so far. ‘New’ because it is a new decade and it would be a reminder to always try and do new things, experiences, try new drinks (before the last tube that is), ways of exercising, new music, new work, watching new programmes, talking to new people…you get the picture. The thinking behind ‘Now’ is because I put loads of things on the back burner, usually dull stuff though, chores, anything involving the post office or admin, general bill paying and I always put off talking to people in call centres. If the programme ‘Room 101’ still existed, Call Centres would go in there with Mosquitoes and Caves, all dull, irritating and totally pointless. Trips to caves, I just really don’t get, what is that all about, a hole in the ground or in a rock, cockroaches and rats live there, no thanks. That goes for caving too, ridiculous activity. And Mosquitoes are the top of my most pointless creatures list. Anyway, I think if I do everything Now, my life will be organised, better and leave more time for me and life’s pleasures.

The last one, ‘Quality’ was kind of recommended to me by a friend who said that last year his resolution was ‘Whatever the situation, react with quality’, you have to admit that the sentiment is great, but it is quite definitive and a little too professional, it’s almost like a companies mission statement and therefore too formal for me. I am prone to a few faux pas when drunk, I am pretty sure that doing a headstand in a dress while out certainly doesn't qualify as ‘class’, but hey, we live and learn.

In essence, I have put much thought into this old tradition and have decided on a definitive word, this is ‘BETTER’. This year I will better everything and while I am at it I ‘better’ start getting the last tube home!

Mansour shakes things up and Hughes is not allowed to make his mark.

I received a text on Saturday from a Manchester City fan, it read ‘’City won, United lost, Hughes sacked....the greatest day of my life!’’

Mark Hughes has lost just 2 games this season, put this into perspective by looking at the teams above them in the league in the table, Chelsea have lost 3 games, Manchester United 5, Arsenal 4, Aston Villa 3 and Spurs have lost 5. Every single club above City have lost more games. On the other side of the coin, two wins in eleven Premier League games is also unacceptable, the problem was the volume of draws and the clear inability to win these games.

You can buy players but not trophies, you can buy individuals but can’t make them play together. Without doubt a winning team needs to be built and nurtured. That aside, I can’t help but think that in City’s case if they continue to throw money at the transfers to the song of £200+ million a year, eventually they will win silverware, there is nothing surer. However, it must be frustrating for anyone associated with the club to sit and watch an expensively assembled team under-perform week in week out. What Hughes needed was more time. I feel he will go on to be a great manager.

I recently read an article about the young Gunner’s and how from the youth team upwards, all the players are encouraged to do things at pace. They must move the ball quicker, speed everything up and thus an on the pitch mantra has been developed by Arsene Wenger ‘faster faster and faster’. This very notion has been adopted by clubs like City, not on, but off the pitch, where the new owners are totally consumed with instant gratification.

The fans appear to have mixed opinions on the matter, particularly on the manner in which the Welshman was sacked. Hughes himself claimed the indecent speed of Mancini’s appointment underlined City’s hierarchy had been working behind his back for weeks, even though he was on course to meet the club’s top-six target agreed in pre-season. Garry Cook refuted this in his press conference and cowardly refused to answer any questions, instead read a well prepared statement and hid behind a blonde female PR officer saying there were no conspiracy theories.

Installed in place of Mark Hughes, former striker Roberto Mancini, winner of three successive Serie A titles. His record is impressive, he has won trophies with each of the clubs he has managed namely Fiorentina, Lazio and Inter. The 45 year old definitely has impressive credentials and a winning mentality, that combined with the players already at the club and the bottomless pit of money must surely equal success sooner rather than later.

Tevez shows John whose Terry-itory it is and Manchester is United

When Carlos Tevez scored the free-kick that won the match for Manchester City, who would have thought that both sides of Manchester would roar in celebration in unison. City have ended their 7 run goal-less streak and momentarily Hughes is God. It is exactly this kind of performance that keeps mangers their jobs and for Sparkie it couldn’t have come at a better time. However, let’s not forget that Chelsea still sit at the top of the table with 2 points to spare and apart from yesterday have been in prolific form.

After Liverpool only managed a draw against Blackburn, I sense there is a shift in allegiance towards ‘Rafa out’ amongst the Kop. Down to 7^th, Rafa happy to leave £20million of talent warming the bench and insistent in bringing off key man Benayoun...once again most are baffled by Benitez!

Aaron rams it in for Arsenal (I’ve always had a secret penchant for this player) and Wenger’s boys look back on top of their game. Andrey Arshavin seemed to plug some of the gap that Van Persie has left, but there is no doubt Arsene will have to splash the cash in the January window, with a fine Bordeaux vintage by the name of Marouane Chamakh on the list of candidates and most likely to get the nod.

Hull’s key man Jimmy Bullard has suffered a massive set back again, after only just recovering from a cruciate knee injury, JB hobbled off in agony as Hull were thrashed by an over powering Villa. If this turns out to be long term it will devastate not only Jimmy himself but the team too, for Mr Bullard is the Lion amongst the Tigers, the king of his domain, until yesterday that is. Could this blow prove too much for Phil Brown and see Hull slip back into the drop zone.

Bolton had their 5^th defeat in 6 games and are second bottom. Gary Megson doesn’t feel under pressure but will the boardroom push Megson out and put the bolt-on the door? Results need to happen and quick, the transfer window couldn’t come quicker for the fans but is there any money?

Domestic league aside there was plenty of excitement surrounding the World Cup draw, which was quickly diminished when the ceremony itself got underway. It was painful to watch the beautiful Charlize Theron pretending she had a clue about football, she was more convincing as a serial killer in ‘Monster’ than she was attempting to masquerade as a football fanatic, nevertheless she did look great.

England’s group on paper looks like a casual Sunday morning stroll in the park compared to other groups, but in typical fashion there’s no doubt that drama will unfold during the group stages. England currently 9^th in FIFA’s world rankings face USA who are 14^th in the world, Algeria 28^th and 33^rd ranked Slovenia. The US could potentially trip England up, with Beckham’s Galaxy team mate Langdon Donovan as their danger man. The 27 year old has 120 international caps and 42 goals for his country to his game and can play up front, on either wing or as an attacking midfielder. Hopefully Becks knows how to keep this player in check so he doesn’t run riot.

Ironically for Mr Posh, England’s first fixture is against the USA on June 12^th in Rustenburg, which is also the most likely place for their base camp too. Everything seems to be in England’s favour but yet somehow even under Capello, I am not convinced we can win it. You see this is the problem with all of us England fans, we tend to move between the polar opposites of ‘England are a shambles’ to ‘We’re gonna win the World Cup’ and it seems at the moment I am drinking from the half empty cup. No doubt, I think we will get a good run for our money, possibly even a semi out of it, but as for lifting the formerly named Jules Rimet Trophy ,I remain sceptical. Injuries aside, I generally have every faith in most of the outfield players, however there is concern surrounding the goal keeping situation and the ongoing debate of whether Gerrard and Lampard will perform well together. Based on that I think it’s fair to say I wish Shay was Given an English passport and that Paul Scholes comes out of International retirement! Fingers crossed we do the business because I will be out there to witness it!

Life's not so bad in the Drog house! Chelesa go 5 points clear at the top.

Can anyone catch them? John Terry says that ''this is the stuff champions are made of''. Looking good and left Arsenal singing the blues.Sir Alex could nick a few points in the absence of the likes of Didier Drogba,Kalou, Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel to the African Nations Cup bearing that Drogba has scored over a third of Chelsea's goals in the league this campaign.

Arsenal boys were out classed by Chelsea's men and it seems Alan Hansen's famous statement...''you don't win anything with kids'' does apply in this case. The Gunners 11 points off the pace after getting what can only be described as a hammering from the Blues. It seems Robin Van Persie's absence has left a massive Arse-hole! And after pilling the plaudits on Thomas Vermaelen he only goes and scores an own goal against arch rivals Chelsea!

Liverpool bounce back into life in the Merseyside derby to beat a depleted Everton team who look far from their best. Whilst the reds missed Torres it wasn't half as much as the Toffees missed the likes of Arteta, Jagielka and Osman. If Moyes doesn't reassemble his injury ridden team quickly it's more mid-table floundering for them.

Seven draws in row for Hughes...is his job safe? Having spent so much money i'm sure the Middle East owners will want silverware to show for the Welshmans expensively assembled team. Man City face Arsenal on Wednesday in the quarter finals of the Carling Cup live on Sky Sports, both teams desperate to prove they can win something this season.

Meanwhile Real Madrid another team who splashed the cash in the cash in the summer

and displayed a strike force that cost £135 million in Ronaldo and Kaka... and still lost lost. Defeat to Barca in the battle of the Spanish giants proves once again that you can't buy trophies!

Wolves didn't managed to hunt down 3 points against local rivals Birmingham City. Are they now a dead cert for the drop? The relegation dog fight is definitely on for Mick McCarthy's side, just 3 points from a possible 24. Meanwhile Lee Bowyer is looking back to his best, astonishingly Birmingham sitting safely in 11th.

Andy Murray is single, interesting: Murray & Everton a mint made in heaven!

Liverpool not in the last 16 of the Champions League, yet the last 16 is exactly where they might finish in the Premier League this year!

Like all clubs Liverpool were hoping to break some records this season and they might have already done that. If you’re thinking they might break the record for most injuries in a season, that’s not it. Instead, this could be the earliest ever finish to a season.

No doubt when the draw was made for the group stages in the Champions League, fans, players and managers alike saw it as a given that they would be in the knockout stages. Being blunt the group consisted of the third best team in France, the fourth best team in Italy, and the European giants Debrecen! As a result the reds miss out on a possible £30 million pounds, I can’t help that think that would buy them a world class striker that they so desperately need in Fernando Torres absence.

After being ripped off £4.20 for a coffee in central London the other day I had a miniature rant to myself about the lack of value for money these days, which many of you would agree with. There is in fact value out there if you can shrewdly operate. Take a leaf out of Thierry Henry’s handbook. Apparently the France striker negotiated a deal where the players earned bonuses up to £400,000 for reaching next year’s World Cup. A guy who certainly knows how to handle his finances!

Watching Arsenal in action last night cemented my thoughts that along with Brede Hangeland at Fulham, Thomas Vermaelen is an outstanding centre half. At only 6ft many top teams didn’t want to touch him but what an asset he has proved to be for the Gunners. Just 24 years old and potentially one of the most solid defenders in the world and he even bags a fair few goals.

John Terry will be making his 300^th appearance as Chelsea captain and his team sit proudly at the top of the league and their group in the Champions League having already qualified. But all eyes will again be on 18 year old Gael Kakuta who could make his European debut. Maybe finally the footballing world might start talking about the talent the youngster possesses rather that his controversial transfer. No doubt this player is one to keep your beady blues on.

It’s that time of year when Christmas starts to get a mention. It’s funny though because in every family I know it's the mother that makes all the decisions on present buying, all the wrapping and writing of festive cards. So surely if we are going to delude children with myths about Santa Claus then at least there should be an element of truth, that it is probably Mother Christmas who does the dirty work and Father Christmas who gets all the lime light and plaudits! Behind every successful man is a woman!

Darren Bent is the only man to score against all of the ‘big 4’ this season and has a strike rate to be admired with 9 goals in 13 games, it sees Sunderland up to eighth in the table. Despite this, my thoughts don’t change one bit, the former Spurs striker won’t be heading to South Africa with the rest of the squad.

What was interesting though is that Arsenal looked fragile and really lacked the free flowing passing that we are used to seeing. Arsenal, unbeaten in their previous 13 games, failed to score for the first time in 20 matches this season. Could the absence of the injured Robin Van Persie be as catastrophic as the loss of Xavi Alonso to Liverpool?

Football in Scotland is in a period of uncertainty and rarely do we look there for footballing talent, but one man hasn’t let this inhibit his own performance. That man is the ‘Flying Scotsman’ Darren Fletcher whos majestic volley set Manchester United on the path to a comfortable victory against Everton yesterday. Undoubtedly the Scotland captain is vital to United’s success this season and a name that I would imagine goes down first on Sir Alex Fergusons team list. The more I see the 25 year old the more he proves that his presence is pivotal to Manchester United’s performance. Michael Owen started, didn’t bag a goal but looked great if he isn’t given a seat on the plane to South Africa, surely Rio can squeeze him in his holdall. England need him and learning from Sven's errors should take 5 strikers.

Against the odds, Hull managed to drag a point from their game with West Ham and once again they have the cheeky Jimmy Bullard to thank for this. His ability to lift the players with a never say die attitude is worth its weight in gold. No doubt Phil Brown is smiling like the Cheshire cat that got the cream this morning as he gets out of jail again!

Chelsea continue to look sensational despite missing several key players. What pleases me most is that Joe Cole is back to business carving up teams ready to play a key role next summer. Gael Kakuta made his debut and he didn’t disappoint, for the controversy that surrounds him, I hope for Chelseas sake he is the prodigy they are hoping for! Overall in the words of their manager Mick McCarthy Wolves got “mulllerd”, indeed they did, churned like an out of date yogurt!

Anfield yesterday provided the worst half of Premier League football I have seen so far this season and both Liverpool and Manchester City failed to convince they will finish in the top 4. Steven Gerrard the Whiston Wizard predictably was on form, but even he couldn’t add light to the dreary display. Not sure they can bounce back from recent results, not even a placenta could heal their wounds!

On the continent Thierry Henry no doubt feeling distant and removed certainly put the ‘lona’ in Barcelona as came on against Athletic Bilbao last night. Boos from the crowd suggested the effects of his actions are widespread and it will be a long time before he can say adios to the incident! In the same game the 19 year old striker Bojan incredibly made his 100th performance, I’d love to see this kid in the Premier League he scored over 1000 goals for Barca’s youth team!