Capello's New Beginning, But How Much Has Changed?

Last night Fabio Capello announced his 24-man England squad for the upcoming Euro qualifiers with Bulgaria and Switzerland. These are the first competitive matches since England's disastrous World Cup campaign but how much has he really changed? At first glance it seems a lot, eleven of the players who were named in the initial 23-man squad for the World Cup are missing. But on closer inspection, how much has the Italian manager really done differently? With John Terry, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand (who was in the initial World Cup squad for the World Cup before his injury saw Michael Dawson replace him) all injured, Jamie Carragher and Emile Heskey retiring from international football, and David James being 40 years old and in the Championship, those decision's were already made for Capello. In fact he has only really dropped five players. Leaving out keeper Rob Green after his howler in Rustenburg and injury liability Ledley King were again quite straight forward decisions and ditching reserve left-back Stephen Warnock is hardly a shock move. Joe Cole's yet to impact at Liverpool which leaves the overlooking of Spurs winger Aaron Lennon as the only real 'surprise' exclusion.

As for what has come into the squad, who is going to make that much difference? Up front, Carlton Cole has been tested before and had little success. His form for West Ham hasn't exactly been electrifying lately, but Darren Bent is surely deserving of more of a chance at international level after his exploits with Sunderland. With Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe both injury doubts despite inclusion, he may just get that chance. In central defence some much-needed quality alternatives for the increasingly less reliable Terry and Ferdinand have been called up in the form of Dawson, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott . The latter two having recovered from their own recent injury set-backs have been impressive for their clubs and it will be interesting to see which two make the starting line-up. In goal, with Joe Hart getting off to an incredible start to the season for Manchester City and Ben Foster doing similarly well as Hart's successor at Birmingham, the recent worries for that position already seem long gone. It is somewhat surprising to see Scott Carson recalled as third-choice keeper given his history with England but he has done well at West Brom and deserves to be given another chance in the squad, if not as first choice keeper. 20-year old Kieran Gibbs is called up as cover for Ashley Cole despite not featuring for Arsenal yet this season, but he impressed in the second half of the recent Hungary friendly and with the other English left-backs vying for the position all distinctly mediocre ( think Warnock, Leighton Baines, Paul Konchesky) Capello is probably right to go with youth in this position.

Leaving Theo Walcott out of the World Cup squad was one of Capello's most controversial calls and it is unsurprising to see him back in the fold after a blistering start to the season with Arsenal, where he has already equalled his goals tally for last season just three games in. With Adam Johnson preferred to £25m David Silva at Manchester City in their last two games, it is refreshing to see England having two wingers in good form, and Ashley Young from Aston Villa is a very good alternative who has been unfortunate to be overlooked by Capello in the past. Shaun Wright-Phillips' return is perhaps the most surprising but he has scored goals for England in the past and could still do a good job for his country. Overall it seems like Capello has a good squad to take on the upcoming qualifiers. Despite calls from some for a complete overhaul, the likes of Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry all remain, which I believe is the correct thing to do. Creating a successful team is not an overnight process as can be seen by the Spain team who had largely been playing together for many years before their recent Euros and World Cup success. The first test for this post-World Cup team will be stern, Bulgaria and Switzerland are no walkovers, but it will have to be successful for the Three Lions to renew a nation's hope of making an impact in Poland and Ukraine two years from now.

Battle of the Behemoths: Can Real Turn The Corner?

With only a week to go before the Spanish League kicks off and Barcelona resume their tussle with Real Madrid, it is los Merengues who are still making the headlines with their latest star signing: the German World Cup star Mesut Oezil. The attacking midfielder, who was reportedly wanted by Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona themselves, is a massive coup for Jose Mourinho, who convinced the German that the move to Madrid was the right thing to do. Added to the acquisition of Chelsea's Ricardo Carvalho, Argentine winger Angel Di Maria and Oezil's Germany team-mate Sami Khedira, it is clear that Real have been very busy this summer, even if the fees aren't quite as stratospheric as those required a year ago to bring Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo to the Bernabeu. This contrasts starkly with rivals Barcelona. The Blaugrana have made only two moves this summer, bringing in Sevilla defender Adriano as a replacement for Ukrainian flop Dmytro Chygrynskiy and more notably Spain hero and goalscorer extraordinaire David Villa.

But it is the make up of the overall squads that show the real difference between the two clubs, who last season dominated La Liga so effectively that 3rd placed Valencia were 25 points behind Real in second place. The catalan club are full of homegrown players, brought through at the club's fabled La Masia complex whereas almost every player at los Blancos has been bought from elsewhere. Even homegrown legends Raul and Guti have been offloaded this summer to make way for more transfers. Only three of Real's current squad came through their own youth system, and of those, Esteban Granero and Alvaro Arbeloa both left for periods before being re-signed. Only captain Iker Casillas has been with the club for his whole career. Whereas Barca aren't shy of making big money transfers such as Villa and last year's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the core of their team have been developed at home. Carles Puyol, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Victor Valdes, Pedro Rodriguez, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets were all local boys who came through the youth system and even Leo Messi has been with the club from the age of 12.

The philosophy continues at managerial level, Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola was a product of the club's youth system. He spent the majority of his playing career with them, winning the European Cup under Johan Cruyff and eventually returned to manage the B team. After only a year, he stepped up to manage the first team, fearlessly offloading Ronaldinho and Deco, and remarkably won the treble in his first season in charge. As if that wasn't enough, Barca went on to claim the Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup and World Club Cup, becoming the first team in history to win all six available trophies in one year. When Barcelona are doing so well, Real are invariably unhappy and even when Barca lost their grip on the Champions League last season they still outshone Real, beating them to the title despite Real achieving their record tally for most points in a season. The reason Mourinho has been hauled into the Bernabeu is that he is seen as the one man who can stop the Catalans: his Inter team were the ones to knock them out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage back in April. Mourinho is effectively the first superstar managerial signing at Real, and perhaps the only man who can control a squad full of Prima Donnas.

Having recently visited both cities, the difference in football culture is very clear. In Barcelona, it feels as if the city revolves around the club, you can't walk 100 metres without spotting someone in a Barca shirt, and no matter where you look there is almost no sign of Real's existence. Camp Nou is an incredible venue and really feels like it belongs to the people. Barca's local rivals Espanyol are practically invisible. In Madrid, you'd do well to spot more than the odd fan wearing the famed white shirt in the city centre, and in shops Barcelona shirts sit comfortably alongside Real's and local rivals Atletico's. With most shops aimed at the tourists, the footballing passions and rivalries seem to play second fiddle to the lust for money. Much how Real themselves work. When Real Madrid lust after a player, they invariably get him. With his recent work Florentino Perez has emulated Santiago Bernabeu, the man who pipped Barcelona to the signing of Alfredo Di Stefano back in Real's original glory days of the 1950s. While undoubtedly glorious and visually impressive, there is a somewhat artificial and commercial feel to the stadium which is named after Bernabeu. It is clear all the club cares about is success at all costs - and that means winning the European Cup.

This season, it appears to be the Mourinho factor which has balanced out the two behemoth's chances of silverware. With his achievements in the last seven years the Portuguese tactician is almost certainly the best manager in the world. Yet in Barcelona, who once employed him as a translator, he has a nemesis like no other. If Villa settles alongside Messi and either Ibrahimovic or Pedro in Barca's established 4-3-3 formation then they could wreak havoc like no other team in the world. But with Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain in imperious form last season, the additions of Carvalho and Khedira which will shore up the defensive side of the team could see Real run them every step of the way. Expected to play the 4-2-3-1 formation with which Inter won the Champions League it will be interesting to see how star player Ronaldo fits in to the front four, and if Kaka can resume fitness and become an integral part of the team. With Karim Benzema challenging Higuain for the role of centre forward and Oezil, Di Maria, Pedro Leon and Rafael Van der Vaart all pushing for attacking positions, Mourinho certainly has a challenge on his hands. The two defeats at the hands of Barca effectively sealed Real's fate last year. Unless Mourinho can rally his team to overcome Guardiola's all-conquering Barcelona then even the Special One may struggle to keep his boss Perez happy. While the Spanish league has effectively turned into a Scotlandesque duopoly, the drama between these two is like no other rivalry in the world. Let the battle commence.

Egos, Goals and Paul Scholes: It's only the return of the Premier League!

What a relief it is to have the Premier League back, which after a somewhat pedestrian World Cup seems faster and more exciting than it even did before. And the opening weekend certainly didn't disappoint with some sterling performances from individuals and teams alike: Joe Hart, Blackpool, Chelsea and Paul Scholes to mention a few. Hart, the new England number one goalkeeper pipped the vastly more experienced Shay Given to the starting line-up of Manchester City's opening game away to Spurs and single-handedly kept them in the game, justifying his selection and surely signifying the end of Given's time at Eastlands. It is good news for the national team that Hart won this particular battle as it isn't since the days of David Seaman at Arsenal that there has been an English number one keeper at a club at the right end of the Premier League table. As for City themselves they still look a fair way from winning the title but with James Milner, David Silva and Yaya Toure aboard, surely have the personnel to push on and claim a top four place this season. Egos may prove a problem though, and although Craig Bellamy has been strangely offloaded to the Championship, between Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez and new boy Mario Balotelli (and Robinho if he stays) there is more than enough potential for Roberto Mancini's men to implode.

Blackpool meanwhile defied the odds with a 4-0 opening day away victory at Wigan. With newly promoted teams in the past often going months without success on the road, this early victory could be pivotal to Ian Holloway's team's morale. Yes, Wigan were abysmal but they have been in the Premier League long enough now to be considered a decent scalp and the Tangerines will be buzzing about a trip the Emirates this coming weekend. The Arsenal side they will face are one that again seem short of title-winning quality. Laurent Koscielny seems like a solid signing in central defence, but having lost Gallas, Silvestre, Campbell and Senderos this summer he is effectively replacing four players, leaving the Gunners worryingly short of cover in the position. With Koscielny suspended it will be interesting to see how they fare on Saturday. Question marks remain over the fitness of Robin Van Persie, who was only a substitute at Anfield on Sunday and Marouane Chamakh is certainly not an out-and-out goalscorer, averaging less than a goal every four games when at Bordeaux. As for captain Cesc Fabregas, he may stay for another season but whether he can play at his best when his heart is clearly with Barcelona will be interesting.

Chelsea on the other hand looked imperious as they cruised to a 6-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion. But if they can play like that against stronger opposition is not certain, as their defence certainly looked breachable in the Community Shield defeat to Manchester United little over a week ago. John Terry's form is questionable and Ricardo Carvalho will be missed, so much will depend on the form and fitness of Alex and Branislav Ivanovic, two admittedly more-than capable defenders. At the other end of the pitch, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda and Frank Lampard slotted straight back into goal-scoring form on the opening day and this is where Chelsea are strongest. Another injury to Michael Essien could prove disastrous though with Michael Ballack, Deco and Juliano Belletti all gone and Ramires unproven in the Premier League. The Blues remain title favourites and as usual only Manchester United look like serious contenders. Paul Scholes was the star of the 3-0 victory over Newcastle United, displaying a full array of passes and attacking prowess, but the Red Devils certainly looked good all round. Nani is my early tip for player of the season as he seems to be continuing from where he left off before the summer and Dimitar Berbatov, after two dismal seasons, looks like he may finally have turned the corner at Old Trafford with a stunning lob at Wembley last week before a clinical finish to open the scoring on Monday night. Wayne Rooney still seemed somewhat off the pace but with pacy new Mexican signing Javier Hernandez, who impressed in South Africa, available from the bench, some of the pressure to score goals may be relieved from the England forward. Sir Alex Ferguson's men will take some stopping this year.

Elsewhere Liverpool, having finally escaped the shackles of Rafael Benitez, looked rejuvenated under Roy Hodgson, and played remarkably well with ten men in the second half against Arsenal. If Fernando Torres finally regains full fitness then they will surely be in with a strong chance of breaking back into the top four. Tottenham, with little movement in the transfer market were impressive against Manchester City but may struggle to repeat the feat of last season, and their defence looked suspect in their Champions League qualifier in Switzerland last night. Aston Villa, without Martin O'Neill may struggle to maintain their sixth position of the last three seasons, but with the right managerial appointment could do well, their squad is certainly still healthy, even with Stephen Ireland swapped for Milner, a deal which could turn out better for the Villans than for City. As for the other end of the table, it's anyone's shout at the moment, with only ultimate yo-yo team West Brom starting the season looking awful and even they had the excuse of playing away to the champions. Wolves started well and West Ham started badly but with little difference in the quality of many of the squads, it should be a much tighter battle than seen last year where Hull City and Burnley were disastrous and Portsmouth pretty much destroying their chances of survival with financial mismanagement. Let's hope not to see any more of that this season.