ENGLAND DATE

Sorry folks,finger trouble...the date for England match in Basle is of course Tuesday September 7!

Fabio Capello rings the changes.Now he must take responsibility

Fabio Capello has been forced to make some changes and also decided to bring in some new faces for the Euro 2012 Qualifiers against Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday ( 8.00p.m. kick-off UK time and live on ITV) and in Switzerland at Basle on Monday(live on Sky with 7.45p.m. kick-off UK time).There are several injured players including Chelsea pair Frank Lampard and John Terry but he has also brought in younsters.Capello must no longer blame the players as he suggested for the World Cup farce.Qualifying is a lot easier for England than in the finals.He took the praise and the money for the former.It is his responsibility for the latter as well as the players.He picks them and decides most aspects.He is the highest paid national coach in the world.Now he needs to justify it.

CHELSEA v MANCHESTER UNITED AGAIN?

Champions Chelsea look unstoppable.Played 3 Premier League matches,won all three,14 goals scored and none conceeded.Wow is that impressive or what?Manchester United also have a top squad and Dimitar Berbatov is starting to look the part.They,like Arsenal,are two points behind,United dropping two late points at Fulham:Arsenal drawing at Liverpool.Arsenal will have a decent season,better I expect than recently,but they might just still be a notch behind the big two as they are now becoming.Long way to go but the signs are there.

WEST HAM'S WRONG CHOICE

Avram Grant may or may not be a good manager.Who really knows? But I thought at the time he was the wrong choice for West Ham.The start hardly proves me wrong.Played 3 lost 3.Bottom of the Premier League with no points and just 1 goal with 9 conceeded.Owners David Sullivan and David Gold usually keep their manager for 6 years.Will this one last six months?

ASTON VILLA NEW MANAGER

Villa have stated that their new manager must have had Premier League experience.Well I suppose Kevin MacDonald has now had that.The players want the care-taker manager to be Martin O'Neill's successor.But they would,wouldn't they?They feel safe with him but his public answers to whether he wants the job hardly fill you with confidence.He has little experience in the transfer market.Overseas managers with no experience over here are obviously ruled out but it still lives a few good candidates home and abroad.Owner Randy Lerner knows he has to get this one right.Martin O'Neill's boots are hard to fill in this role but hardly impossible.

ONE LEAGUE BUT TWO WORLDS

The Premier League may be the most popular in the world.We all over watching it but the gaps are broadening within it.Chelsea and Manchester United have big wins.Liverpool and Arsenal draw against each other and Manchester City keep spending and spending.We all know that the title will be between Chelsea and Manchester United plus possibly one or two more.Blackpool started brilliantly but will they keep it up?We all know now that the bottom tier teams will expect to lose to the top teams and that they have to beat clubs like themselves to survive.So in that respect Blackpool's was a very good result.It was the opening weekend.Make no mistake we will enjoy it all but while last season was pretty open for a long while this season does have that inevitable look about it.

ENGLAND'S FRIENDLY UNDERLINES MY PRE-WORLD CUP PLEA

Before the World Cup I predicted England would not go far but I did not expect them or their manager Fabio Capello to be so poor.I asked that Joe Hart be the goalkeeper but the arguments against me were his so called inexperience.I still maintain he is England's current best.The ball did not look over the line by the way, when the French linesman signalled to the referee to award the Hungary goal.I had pleaded in these blogs as well for Capello to take Adam Johnson to the World Cup because the young Manchester City forward can give you something else..and what about Theo Walcott?The FA cannot afford,it seems,to pay off Capello and while he might be a great European Club manager he sure ain't the right one for England.Steven Gerrard saved his Palma ham last night.We would struggle to win anything under Harry Redknapp or Martin O'Neill ( the right sort of choices) but under Fabio our chances are much slimmer and right now slim is out of town!

TREATMENT OF DAVID BECKHAM AWFUL MAN MANAGEMENT

David Beckham has been great for England on and off the field.But for the news of the end of his international career to be told to a massive TV audience before a conversation with Beckham is dreadful mis-management by the coach Fabio Capello.Beckham deserved much better than that.By the way the wrong person might well have been retired here! Capello asked his number two to ask Paul Scholes to re-consider this retirement and go the World Cup.It might have made a huge difference if Capello had travelled to Manchester United and asked Scholes on a one to one basis in person.All this from a man on £6 million a year-the highest paid international coach.

MARTIN O'NEILL'S AWFUL TIMING

Martin O'Neill praises the Aston Villa supporters verbally and then kicks them in the proverbials the next.His resignation just a few days before the start of the season is awful.Owner Randy Lerner claims he and the manager differ on how to take the club forward.O'Neill has by all accounts,had huge control at Villa Park in many areas and until recently conducted all the transfer deals.Lerner has spend something like £148 million in buying and strengthening the club.No doubt that both are responsible for improving Villa.O'Neill is highly paid and obviously a good manager but I believe he should have given notice of his intentions and served some notice time until a new appointment is/was made.The managers are often sacked but if they and the League Managers Association want the level playing field most of them deserve it has to be both ways.If a club has a sensible looking policy and I believe Villa have that then highly paid employees should accept it.Martin O'Neill clearly does not agree.