DIMITAR BERBATOV ANSWERS CRITICS

Dimitar Berbatov is a high talented footballer.That was never in doubt but his attitude and performances were severely questioned after hius £30 million pounds move from Spurs to Manchester United two years ago.I recall Sir Alex Ferguson telling me that Berbatov can look deceptive and that it does take time to settle as a United new boy.The 3-2 win over Liverpool which United needed to win as Chelsea continue to defend their title with maximum points was down to Berbatov.His hat-trick,the first for United v Liverpool since Stan Pearson in 1946,was his 6th in 5 Premier League games.His application,work rate,and above all efforts to be in the box makes him a real match-winner this season.It was just Wayne Rooney;now its Berbatov and I am sure before long Rooney again!~United and Arsenal are both four points behind Chelsea but there is a long,long way to go.Berbatov? He may be Footballer of the Year if he keeps this up!

HOW QUICKLY FORTUNES CHANGE!

How quickly fortunes change.One year ago Irish goalie Shay Given was Manchester City's big buy from Newcastle.He looked as good as most.His understudy Joe Hart was on loan with Birmingham,went to South Africa with England after playing brilliantly for the Blues,and is now England and Manchester City's regular goalkeeper.Given,on the other hand,had a bad injury and now cannot get into the team.

WEST BROM AND BIRMINGHAM SURPRISE

I did not expect West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City to make such good starts.Early days but early promise.Roberto di Matteo has spent the limited budget well and has a winnner in Nigeria's striker Peter Odemwingie signed for £1.5 million only from Lokomotiv Moscow.Chairman Jeremy Peace runs Albion on strict budgets but they do have a chance with the current squad of staying up.Albion are currently 10th with 7 points.I did not expect that good start....nor Birmingham whose 3-1 defeat at Albion was their first of the season.Manager Alex McLeish has finally got his new contract and has done a very good job at Birminghbam who are very difficult to beat at home.But he has lost striker James McFadden with a damaged cruciate ligament.Both should stay up this season which would make a nice change for the Baggies!

MOTSON,SHILTON AND NEWBON ON STAGE..BUT NOT STRICTLY COME DANCING

England's most capped player,goalie Peter Shilton and the legendary BBC football commentator John Motson will join Sky Sports and former ITV Sport presenter Gary Newbon for an evening of chat and fun in Solihull on Tuesday September 28.The venue is the Solihull Arts Complex in the Touchwood Shopping area.Shilts 125 caps will have a chance to explain why he has entered "Strictly Come Dancing"..Also on the bill TV impressionist Kevin Connelly who will be interviewed by Motty! Some tickets still available from the Box Office on 0121-704-6962.

PUKKA PIES RENEW SPONSORSHIP

Pukka Pies,the great piemakers and supporters of community sport,have renewed their sponsorship of this website.We are thrilled for their support which will enable us to develop some exciting new ideas which I have already discussed with managing director Tim Storer.

FABIO RIGHT TO QUIT IN 2012

Hard to be critical of England's win over Switzerland.3-1 in Basel is a good scoreline and Fabio Capello took advantage of a swipe at his critics.He would have been better to have ignored it.Results speak for themselves.Good wins over Bulgaria and the Swiss,who did beat Spain in the World Cup.But qualifying in these groupings should always be expected from England.Doing the business in the actual finals is the benchmark.Very few England managers come out of the experience without being mullied by the media.Even the man who won the World Cup Sir Alf Ramsey got slaughtered by the media for his subs v Germany in the 1970 World Cup when winning and then lost 3-2 and for failing to beat Poland and not qualifying in 1974.Capello has clearly been surprised by the critics...he realises as the FA will honour his contract rather than pay him off and that short of winning Euro 2012 it will not be renewed .So understandably he has already announced that he will be gone.Who next?Lets be glad he will be English.Harry Rednapp should be the choice but maybe Steve Bruce or Big Sam Alladyce

WHAT WILL GERARD HOULLIER DO FOR ASTON VILLA?

Gerard Houllier is a surprise appointment for Aston Villa.He has been away from English football for six years.Liverpool was his last Premier League job,actually his only one.Like his successor Rafa Benetiz he started well with a Cup treble( although not the European Champions League),spent a fair bit of money but failed to land the Holy Grail-the Premier League title.Will the wily,articulate Frenchman do better than Martin O'Neill?Will he be able to spend as much money?Was he really the best choice?Don't take too much notice about immediate results good or bad.Players who felt comfortable under the previous manager now know they are under threat.Aston Villa is the biggest club in the Midlands and Randy Lerner is a good owner.I wish Houllier well but when he diplomatically praises the Villa supporters I do not think he has any idea of their expectations.He should ask Martin O'Neill..they turned on him at times.Unbelievable!

FOOTBALLERS SHOULD KNOW THE SCORE OFF THE FIELD

Standards have been slipping in public life.An apology seems to cover everything.Scandal..then "oh that's all right then,he or she has apologied"
So there is no point passing judgement on the Wayne Rooney and hookers story.Maybe at the end of the day its something between Mr and Mrs Rooney.Mind you giving some-one £200 to buy a packet of cigarettes for you does rather support the argument that footballers are paid too much!The biggest crime maybe the stupidity of footballers or any one else in the public eye.The media makes you famous but it can also destroy you.Its not good blaming the media.You know the score,you know the tabloids agenda.So why not behave yourself in your years of making money.You have the rest of your years as a faded star to do what every you must.And please lets stop using the word role model unless you want to talk about people such as Ryan Giggs.

ENGLAND MAKE GOOD START TO EURO 2012

It was always going to be an improvement on England's woeful experience in South Africa.I still cannot believe the blind support Fabio Capello is receiving but give the manager and players credit on Friday.4-0 is a very good scoreline in a competitive match.Bulgaria were clever but Jermain Defoe scored a fine hat-trick and Adam Johnson weighed in as well.Steven Gerrard in the centre paid off and Wayne Rooney was free in this 4-4-1-1 system.Rooney did not score but he was involved in all four England goals and generally played well.The win by the way was England's 11th successive at Wembley which amazingly is claimed as a record!So good start.Well done and on to Switzerland on Tuesday for I suspect a much harder game.But Group G should be a doddle for England.Besides the two mentioned its Montenegro and Wales.Hard group? You are having a laugh!But England didn't pick it and
the players and coach will be judged on the finals.

ENGLAND YOUNGSTERS

I promise not to go on but I consistently urged Fabio Capello to pick Joe Hart for the World Cup as number one goalie and to take young Adam Johnson in the squad.Hart was outstanding on loan for Birmingham;Johnson will give you something different when all else fails.Everyone kept saying: no experience;not ready yet.Rubbish.Some of those with lots of international experience stop producing.Emile Heskey is a classic example.Brazil keep blooding young talent.Its always been the same for England.I recall Ron Greenwood getting really angry with the Midlands media,including me,for pushing West Bromwich Albion's outstanding player Bryan Robson.When he was finally picked we were justified.The same with Don Revie and the Birmingham hero Trevor Francis.When Francis finally played he was also class.Just as England supporters have short tolerance spans so England managers need to give youngsters time.It now paying of for Theo Walcott.

MIXED FORTUNES FOR IRELAND AND UK TEAMS IN EURO 2012

Good opening match wins for England,the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland,defeat for Wales and a draw for Scotland.Those are the facts but what will be the outcome?The winners of the nine groups qualify for the finals,the runner's up go into the plays off.That's the basic idea.In our groups England should be certs,the Republic of Ireland will be in the frame with Russia( probably as runners up),Northern Ireland will dip out behind Italy and Serbia,Scotland will disappoint behind World and European Champions Spain and Czech Republic,while Wales have no chance.So that's settled then.........

GERARD HOULLIER REALLY THE MANAGER FOR ASTON VILLA?

Find it strange that Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner looks certain to appoint Frenchman and former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier as successor to Martin O'Neill.Houllier is over his ill health and that should not be a factor but he has been out of English management for six years.And he is France's technical director.What happened to France in South Africa?The 63 year old did a Cup treble for Liverpool in 2001 with UEFA Cup,FA Cup and League Cup.He spent a lot of money.Kevin MacDonald is there to coach.But I don't see it changing Villa's fortunes.Glenn Hoddle of Paul Lambert would have been better choices for me.O'Neill's departure suggests the transfer kitty may not be as big as Houllier may need.

IIF YOU ARE ENGLISH GET BEHIND YOUR NATIONAL TEAM

England players are always doing their best even if at times it does not appear so by their performance.The expections are too high.England are not the best in the World but get behind the team,full of changes and youngsters.Booing is counter-productive.Trevor Francis was never nervous before games and he played at the highest level,apart that is from his debut for England.He once told me his legs were like jelly on that Wembley pitch.Lets give the team a clean sheet after the awful World Cup display.

VUVUZELAS BANNED IN EUROPE ...NOW STOP MEXICAN WAVES

Those Vuvuzelas irritated me during the World Cup.What a boring,monotonous sound that drove many in the world-wide TV coverage to complain.FIFA so often fussy about things,said it was part of the national culture so it had to be respected and stayed.I suppose by the end we got used to it.However I am pleased that Vuvuzelas havr been banned from all UEFA competitions.While they are about it what about kicking out that harmless Mexican Waves.Heck,it started in Mexico in the 1986 World Cup.We all enjoyed it then but that was 24 years ago.It pretty boring now but crowds still do it.Get a life,lets do something different but please harmless!

Mikel Arteta

I have never been happy about cricketers with South African sounding accents playing for England but the thought of the Spaniard Mikel Arteta playing for the English national team is not on.The Everton mid-fielder is a brilliant player and would improve the England sqaud.Hey and the Italian Senor Capello has apparently spoken to Senor Arteta about it.Residency laws in this country enable him to apply for a British passport.But there is another reason why it cannot happen.Arteta represented Spain at Under 16 and 17 level.FIFA rules are that he would at least have to hold dual nationality to play for England. If John Smith ,born in London say played for Barcelona after playing for England at similar levels it would be puzzling if he suddenly got picked for Spain.Agree?

LIVE SHOW IN SOLIHULL

My new venture of Sports Legends on Stage opens at Solihull on Tuesday September 28 at 7.30p.m.It will be at the Solihull Arts Complex in the Touchwood Shopping complex and stars John Motson,an institution as BBC football commentator at major matches over four decades,and goalkeeper Peter Shilton,who is England's most capped footballer with 125 international appearances.I will be hosting a fun night full of anecdotes and humour with plenty of inside track stories.An added bonus will be special guest Kevin Connelly,sports impressionist from the TV and Radio Series Deadringers.Ticket,piced £15 each are now on sale at the Box Office,0121-704-6972.If you live in the Midlands area try and join us.....

MARTIN O'NEILL FOR ENGLAND

England begin their Euro 2012 Qualifying Campaign against Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday and then in Basle,away to Switzerland on Tuesday.Lets not get carried away about the "wonderful achievement" to reach the finals.England keep being drawn into manageable groups.Reaching the final stages is not the problem,its getting to the actual final let alone winning it!The highest paid national coach is not in many people's view,certainly mine,the right man for England.Fabio Capello at the every least should win the group.Waiting in the wings at present is one of two managers I have always felt should be Engand's manager and that is Martin O'Neill.The other one is Harry Redknapp.Martin did not give the FA the sort of interview they wanted,just like his mentor Brian Clough,and Im told thew FA didn't like the idea of Martin's able assistants John Robertson and Steve Walford.What do the FA really know?Would players be picked on the way they interview? If a person has talent is the one-off interview really the way to decide.In football everyone knows about everything about the top people.There are many people in life who interview brilliantly but do not in the end do the job well.If Capello got the job on what he achieved at club level in Italy and Spain then it makes mockery interviewing some-one for the England job.Capello is still struggling to learn English.Let us hope for a fine England performance and result over the next few days but lets not get carried away either.