Van Persie's departure need not spell doom and gloom for Gooners

van Persie had said goodbye to Arsenal, but Wenger's squad can push on to future success

After yet another long drawn out transfer saga involving Arsenal, Robin van Persie has finally completed his move to Manchester United. While the Dutchman is undoubtedly a fantastic addition to Sir Alex Ferguson's artillery, the move has piled the pressure on his former manager at Arsenal. The captain's departure from the North London outfit has yet again left people questioning whether Arsene Wenger is taking the club in the right direction. But while I have often disagreed with Wenger's policies and philosophies over recent seasons, I feel that this time, all is not lost for Arsenal. As long as the exodus ends now. 

That could be a big ask as already Alex Song seems to be lining up a move to join another former Gunner, Cesc Fabregas, at Barcelona. But if Wenger can manage to keep him at the Emirates Stadium the Frenchman may finally be able to build a team good enough to challenge for trophies within a couple of seasons. Any sooner than that is simply unrealistic but it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Arsenal could be in the title race again by 2014. How, you ask? Consolidation has to be the way forward. Unlike last season, when Wenger let Fabregas and Nasri depart late on in the transfer window without having much time to sign top quality replacements, Arsenal have already made some astute purchases this summer. Before their 29-year-old talisman left, the squad had already been bolstered by the purchases of Germany forward Lukas Podolski, France striker Olivier Giroud and, perhaps most excitingly of all, Spain midfielder Santi Cazorla. With these three genuinely top notch footballers in the squad, Wenger's men still have plenty of potential.

Over recent years Arsenal have sent out all the wrong messages to their rivals and supporters in the transfer windows. In the past seven years five captains have been sold, as before Fabregas and van Persie the French trio of Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and William Gallas all left despite being Wenger's choice to captain the squad. The latter of those may have been a less important figure as he wasn't the greatest defender Arsenal have had and had caused plenty of controversy with his off-pitch, and sometimes on-pitch, behaviour. But the first two were true legends of the game, let alone the club, and both could have offered at least a couple more years of service to Arsenal. Both went on to win more trophies in Europe, something which we are constantly reminded Arsenal have failed to do since Vieira sealed the 2005 FA Cup with his last kick as a Gooner. In this period the club have fluctuated in form but have consistently finished either 3rd or 4th in the league and been knocked out of Europe by around the quarter-finals or last 16 stage. Solid, but a long way off spectacular.

Of course, it is not only captains that have departed the Emirates stadium with plenty of petrol still left in their engines. Mathieu Flamini, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri have all chosen to leave Arsenal behind them during this period. Unbelievably, the latter four of those have all ended up at Manchester City, illustrating the power shift between the two clubs. Back in 2004 when Arsenal went a whole league season unbeaten, the thought of a club like City, then a mid-to-lower-table outfit, signing so many quality players would have been unthinkable. And for Wenger to regain the credibility and attraction of his club he needs to make sure the likes of City, United and Barcelona don't get their hands on any more of his star players. Podolski has proven himself with Germany, becoming the youngest ever European to reach 100 caps for his country this summer and netting 44 times along the way, despite often being deployed out wide. Giroud, at 25, has plenty to offer and having scored over 20 league goals in two of his last three seasons in France will be expected to pick up van Persie's baton and lead the assault on opposition defences. Cazorla has been in the Spain squad throughout their period of international dominance and while he struggles to start for them (not in anyway a criticism considering Fabregas, David Silva and Fernando Torres are all in the same situation) he has accrued 47 caps over the past five years. These players could form the core of a new Wenger team, and perhaps one that wins trophies again.

Nevertheless, the new boys can't be expected to do it all on their own. They will need the existing Arsenal core to gel with them and play to their maximum. Jack Wilshere's return to fitness is paramount. The diminutive playmaker hasn't played competitive football since June 4th 2011 when England drew 2-2 with Switzerland but he has been handed the number 10 shirt and is pencilled in for an October return to the first team. Theo Walcott and Gervinho need to up their quality of service from the wings and will be expected to chip in with more goals too, but that is certainly within their capabilities. If Song stays, he will be needed to strengthen the midfield with his eye for a good pass as crucial as his positional sense and defensive attributes. If he does leave, Wenger will need to replace him or risk his team really struggling in the middle of the park. New captain Thomas Vermaelen and new vice-captain Mikel Arteta will both play crucial roles in the squad and their fitness is very important. Keep them fit and a solid core of a team is in place. Full back positions are a worry as Bacary Sagna is still injured and Kieran Gibbs is injury-prone while Wojciech Szczesny will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing Euro 2012 where he got sent off in the first match as his country crashed out in the group stage on home soil. But the young Pole's displays last season showed enough ability to warrant being first choice goalkeeper for the foreseeable future.

So it could be the fitness of the squad that dictates Arsenal's performances this season. They lack the strength in depth of their rivals but remain a force to be reckoned with if they are firing on all cylinders. Wenger knows full well that Arsenal have becoming a selling club, but he, and the board, need to bring an end to that situation. Their star striker van Persie is gone, and so are pretty much all of the team that last came close to the title race (2007/08 - they finished just four points off first place), but quality remains and it must be consolidated. If this team play together for a couple of seasons, and if a couple of reinforcements are added each transfer window, Wenger could be king again. While this season's title race looks set to be a three-way tussle between the two titans of Manchester and European champions Chelsea, Arsenal may yet manage to get themselves back in the running next year. They just need to start keeping their best players.

Olympics show women's football is ready to shine

Wembley has played host to many Olympic football games this tournament

In the past few days I have had the privilege of visiting Wembley Stadium twice to watch Olympic football matches. On Saturday I was present to witness Mexico's entertaining 4-2 extra time victory over Senegal in the quarter-finals of the men's tournament, while yesterday I returned to observe Japan's 2-1 win over France in the semi-finals of the women's tournament. Despite there being more goals in the former game, I must say that the latter was vastly more entertaining particularly in a second half in which the French took the game to Japan, the reigning world champions, and could count themselves highly unlucky not to at least earn extra time. In fact the match was an incredible advertisement for the women's game and one which has led me to draw the conclusion that it is high time women's football was treated with more respect and given much more attention in the media.

Japan's women will look to add Olympic gold to their world title this week

In my experience with sports journalism, I have researched and written the odd feature for my old student newspaper on women in football, but had only reported on a couple of women's matches at university level. In these games I saw much skill and entertaining football but some of the excellent technique and quality of play shown at Wembley yesterday, in what was the first high level women's football game I had attended, provided a spectacle which is on a par with the many men's games I have been to in the past. Admittedly there are a couple of aspects of on-field play in which the women’s game is behind the men’s. Most noticeably the goalkeepers seem to struggle more even at such a high level and are less dominant in the penalty area. As well as this, they seem less capable of performing the long goal kicks which have become commonplace in the men’s game, instead preferring to play short passes almost all of the time. That though, can be seen as a good thing as it encourages attractive played-on-the-floor football. In fact with the tiki-taka style of football played by fantastic men’s teams like Barcelona and Spain, this is something which is often encouraged.

Elodie Thomis impressed playing out wide for France

Goalkeeping faults aside, the technical ability possessed by many women’s players is truly of the highest quality. I have previously observed a couple of 30-yard screamers at university level and on the pitch in the Olympic semi-final there were some fantastic skills on display. France’s speedy winger Elodie Thomis showed incisive play which would put several members of the the French men’s team to shame after their Euro 2012 shambles. The 25-year-old was not the only player on her team with skills and the forward Louisa Necib pulled off an incredible turn, worthy of Andres Iniesta, in the second half and unleashed a dipping shot which was not quite good enough to beat the Japanese ‘keeper. Yuki Ogimi and Mizuho Sakaguchi’s goals for the Asian nation both came from well executed set plays, showing that the female game has mastery of a skill which is often lacking in the men’s game – the delivery of accurate free kicks. Another accusation often levelled at women’s football is a lack of pace, but this was completely not evident from the Japan vs France game where a lot the Japanese players and notably Thomis, amongst others, on the French side had pace to burn. In fact there was little aesthetically different about the speed and precision of the game compared to the men’s game. Another observation was the apparent flexibility of formations with midfielders drifting forward to support the strikers and full-backs also pushing up regularly, a far cry from the rigid systems which often appear in the men’s game, notably with England’s national team.

The flags of all the nations competing in football are displayed beneath the Olympic rings

The Olympic football tournament on the whole is a different experience to regular matches with more of a family or carnival atmosphere. The increased presence of the somewhat irritiating Mexican waves is proof of this but whereas this can belittle the men’s tournament in the eyes of some, the Olympic crowds are actually an improvement compared to the usual levels of interest in women’s football. The Mexico-Senegal men’s quarter final was a sell-out in a 90,000 seater stadium yet only 61,482 turned up for the women’s semi final. But compared to a normal Women’s Super League game (only 4,500 capacity at the champions home stadiun), or even the 2011 Women’s Champions League final (14,000) or 2011 Women’s World Cup semi-final (25,000) attendance this is actually an improvement. On top of this, whereas the men's tournament is under-23 only, bar three overage players, there are no age restrictions for women, increasing the quality of the tournament. The women’s game is getting some of the attention it deserves thanks to it's role in the Olympics, which it has only been included in since 1996.

Mexico's Giovani dos Santos (green no.10) starred at Wembley on Saturday

Some farcical news which appeared this week was the fact that the Japanese men’s team were given business-class flights by their football association yet the women, despite being world champions, were only provided with economic class flights. This blatantly unfair display of favouritism is something that should surely be eradicated from sport and athletes of both genders should be treated equally. At the end of day, women’s football is just as good a spectacle as the men's game which can even rake in large crowds at very low levels. The time has come where women’s football should no longer be derided and people should watch it whenever possible. They won’t be disappointed. And in an era where Arsenal are charging over £100 for some non-executive tickets to their stadium, the fact it is a whole lot cheaper to get in is a fantastic additional bonus. The more people that support it, the quicker it will develop, and eventually it might just come close to enjoying the attention which the men's game will surely always receive.

This article originally appeared on James Phillips's Olympics blog tsfe2012.blogspot.com

ATTENTION: NEW BLOG LAUNCH

As I'm sure you are all aware, the 2012 Olympics are about to hit London so for the next three weeks, Born In An Offside Position will be taking a break. During this period, I will be running a new blog, called 'The Search For Excellence' which you can find at tsfe2012.blogspot.com . This blog will launch on Monday 23rd July and will be updated regularly. I anticipate at least 18 posts before the Olympics end on Sunday 12th August. I will be based in London and attending many events which should put me in a good position to provide comment pieces on individual sports, athletes, and the Olympics as a whole. Follow me on Twitter @TSFE2012.

For the record, the blog title is taken from a fantastic quote by Australian triple-gold winning swimmer Dawn Fraser 'The Olympics remain the most compelling search for excellence that exists in sport, and maybe in life itself.' I hope you enjoy my work, and please spread the word.

Photograph: Helen Crane

Drogba, Kanoute, Barrios and co. usher in China's football revolution

There is a football revolution afoot in the Far East. With Didier Drogba the biggest name amongst a host of top quality arrivals in the Chinese Super League, there is plenty of potential for China to finally become a superpower and rival the European and American leagues. As the world's most populous country, home to 1.3billion people, the Asian republic is finally showing ambition to compete at the highest level in the world's most popular sport. Currently ranked only 68th in FIFA's admittedly dubious world ranking system, the Chinese, who have an equally dubious claim to inventing football in the first place, are hoping that the arrival of some global superstars in their domestic league can help improve football in their country from the top down.


The former Chelsea striker Drogba, who left Stamford Bridge after scoring the winning penalty in this year's UEFA Champions League final, is stealing most of the limelight with his arrival at East coast club Shanghai Shenhua, but the revolution is reverberating throughout Chinese football. Reigning champions Guangzhou Evergrande signed Argentine midfielder Dario Conca for £6.4million in July 2011, after he had twice been crowned the Brazilian league's Player of the Year while playing for Fluminense. Conca is just one of several South Americans who have been making the move to China in recent years and he has recently been joined at Evergrande by highly-rated  Paraguayan striker Lucas Barrios who cost £6.7million from German champions Borrusia Dortmund. Another South American is the former Argentina boss Sergio Batista who will be managing Drogba at Shenhua after he replaced Frenchman Jean Tigana earlier this year.


As well as South Americans, a whole host of African players have been tempted to the CSL, including Seydou Keita, the 32-year-old Malian midfielder who won two Champions Leagues in his four-year spell at Barcelona before joining Dalian Aerbin. The Nigerian forward Yakubu, who still has plenty to offer at 29, and Fredi Kanoute, another Malian formerly of Spurs and more recently Sevilla, have joined Guangzhou R & F and Beijing Guoan respectively. This large scale arrival of proven talents is drawing the footballing world's eye to China and it will be interesting to see how their clubs fare in the Asian Champions League over the coming years as no Chinese team has won the tournament since 1990 when it was called the Asian Club Championship. However, with Drogba's signature in place, the biggest focus is on Shanghai Shenhua (which means 'the flower of Shanghai') and although the team currently languish in 12th place out of 16 teams, they will be targeting trophies in the near future.


Drogba isn't the only man with English connections at Shenhua as he is linking up with his former Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka, who made the move back in December 2011 but has struggled to make a major impact so far. Anelka was asked to be part of the coaching staff towards the end of Jean Tigana's failed regime but has reverted to simply player status under Batista. Interestingly, Anelka's former Bolton Wanderers team-mate Ian Walker, who played many times in the Premier League for Tottenham and Leicester City, as well as appearing for England, joined Shenhua as goalkeeping coach earlier this year. Anelka has since announced his intention to remain at the club until he retires and was clearly pleased with the arrival of Drogba which will take some of the pressure from his shoulders. That pressure lead to an argument with some fans after the Frenchman refused to take part in the traditional Chinese ritual of bowing to the fans at the end of a recent poor performance.


Although the CSL was only founded  in 2004 in its current format ( it was previously called the Chinese Jia-A league), Shenhua are yet to win the title, finishing runners-up on three separate occasions.  An aspect of the league's rules which should allow for local talent to develop under the influence of the big name superstars is that only five foreigners are permitted per squad, including one from another AFC (Asian Football Confederation) affiliated country. At Shenhua, Drogba and Anelka are joined by Columbian international midfielder Giovanni Moreno, Brazilian defender Moises and erstwhile Australian international forward Joel Griffiths (Australia is part of the AFC) and between they will be expected to lead their Chinese team-mates to success in the coming seasons. The money to fund Shenhua's big name signings has come from controversial chairman Zhu Jun, a Chinese-Irish businessman who has been known to interfere with team matters since his appointment in 2007. Along with the Evergrande Real Estate Group, who are bankrolling Guangzhou Evergrande's investments, Zhu Jun and the Shanghai Media & Entertainment Group and Huangpu Investment Ltd. companies who are at the helm of Shenhua will be looking to Drogba, Barrios and co. to usher in a new era for Chinese football. Only time will tell whether they will succeed.

Spain have proven that they are the greatest.

On Sunday this current Spain side proved emphatically that they are the greatest international team of the modern era. There is no doubt in my mind that they have risen to first place in the all-time rankings of natonal teams  with their triumph at Euro 2012, with which they simultaneously became the first team ever to win consecutive European Championships and the first team to win three major international tournaments in a row (if you exclude the Uruguay side who won the Olympics in 1924 and 1928 and the inaugural 1930 World Cup). People have levelled the criticism that they play 'boring' football at them, particularly in this year's Euros tournament, yet it is impossible to argue with their success and the aesthetically pleasing qualities of many of their goals. Amongst their best were Jordi Alba's in the Final, Xabi Alonso's first in the quarter-final with France and Cesc Fabregas's in the opening group game with Italy, the team they again met in the Final.

Spain have an undeniably extremely talented and sophisticated group of players,many of whom have been playing together for years. That the majority of their opposition choose to defend en masse does admittedly render several of their games lacking in goalmouth action, but over their four-year period of dominance, this has never prevented them from winning a match. Sublime in possession going forward, their ability to regain the ball is also second to none with a formidable back-line protected by energetic midfielders who close down opponents more effectively than the majority of ultra-defensive teams in the world. Indeed, they haven't conceded a single goal in a knockout match at any of the last three tournaments. Spain have practically become unbeatable and know exactly how to play to their strengths.

Alongside their tactical and technical supremacy, one of their greatest advantages is the familiarity of their players with each other. Seven of their players have featured in all three of the Finals they have reached since Euro 2008. A further seven have featured in at least two. These figures would be increased if not for injuries sustained by Carles Puyol and David Villa. A huge amount of their players are familiar at club level (the Barcelona and Real Madrid contingents forming the core of the national team) and others have played with each other for years in the Spanish national youth teams. This truly incredible generation are record-breakers. A quick look at La Furia Roja's records sees Villa out in front as all time top scorer on 51 goals with Fernando Torres lodged in third place on 31. The former is only 30 and the latter only 28. Iker Casillas is by far the most-capped Spanish player with 137 at the age of 31 and is the first ever international player to rack up a century of victories. However, Xavi and Xabi Alonso are also centurions (with the former Liverpool man reaching the mark in the quarter-final win over France) and Torres, Puyol and remarkably the 26-year-old Ramos are all currently between the 90 and 100 cap marks. In contrast to England's David Beckham, Michael Owen and co, this generation is truly golden.

But what marks out Spain as definitively the greatest international team of the modern era, and almost certainly of all time is the fact they can let their trophies do the talking. Brazil of 1970 only won one World Cup (their were admittedly no Copa America tournaments between 1967 and '75). The 'Total Football' Holland team of Johan Cruyff famously failed to win anything. The West Germany of Franz Beckenbauer got to three finals in a row, but unlike Spain, they lost the third one. The Brazil of the 90s lost spectacularly to France in 1998 and the France side from that year and 2000 were sharply humiliated in the group stage of the 2002 World Cup and even if they hadn't have been, they could never quite dominate or convince as much as Vicente Del Bosque's men have. It is unthinkable for a group stage exit to happen to Spain any time soon. Three in a row could well become four or more as they are showing no sign of slowing down just yet. With the likes of Iniesta, Fabregas, Silva, Pique, Ramos, Pedro Rodriguez and Jesus Navas still with plenty of years ahead of them, and youngsters such as Barcelona's Thiago Alcantara and Cristian Tello, Marseille's Cesar Azpilicueta and Manchester United's David de Gea coming through the ranks, this incredible team of tiki-taka Spaniards is going to take some stopping.

That familiar feeling: England losing on penalties

The 4th of July 1990. England had held West Germany to a 1-1 draw thanks to a late Gary Lineker equaliser in the World Cup semi-final in Turin. To reach the Final all they had to do was win their first ever penalty shoot-out. The shoot-out had first been introduced into a major international tournament (although it had existed at club level for a few years already) fourteen years previously, in the final of the European Championships where Czechoslovakia beat West Germany, yet the England national team had never been involved in one before. How bad could it be? Well, as Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle found out, it could be heart-breaking. Both the Nottingham Forest and the Marseille man missed their penalties which gifted the Germans, who of course didn't miss any, a 4-3 victory and sent them through to the final where they defeated Argentina.

It proved scarring, with a miserable group stage exit at Euro 92 followed by the ignominy of missing out altogether on World Cup 94,  but it appeared the English had bounced back by the next time they faced a spot kick showdown. Six years since Turin, with the home advantage of Euro 96, Pearce earned redemption as he netted in a 4-2 penalty win over the Spanish following a 0-0 draw in the quarter-final at Wembley (note that this Spanish team were a shadow of the now dominant masters of tiki-taka who have triumphed in the past two major tournaments). The knowledge that England won their last penalty shoot-out unfortunately only lasted a pitiful four days before those ruthless penalty takers of Germany netted all six of their spot kicks and capitalised when centre-back Gareth Southgate couldn't convert England's sixth penalty after a 1-1 draw. Since then, there has been a psychological block of epic proportions which has seen midfielders Paul Ince and David Batty fall foul from the spot against Argentina in 1998,  the mighty David Beckham and ill-selected Darius Vassell do likewise against Portugal in 2004, the experienced trio of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher make a hash of it against those same Portuguese opponents in 2006 and now the two Ashleys, Young and Cole, failing to score against Italy in Euro 2012 to send Roy Hodgson's men crashing out of yet another tournament. Of the last ten tournaments England have qualified for, they have exited on penalties in six, meaning only four times have they exited in normal fashion (the group stage exit of Euro 92 was repeated in 2000 and there was the freak Ronaldinho goal in the 2002 World Cup quarter-final and humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of those pesky Germans in World Cup 2010 which both allowed for non-penalty shoot-out related exits). 


This wildly disproportionate amount of penalty shoot-out exits is proving the bane of our national team. Admittedly, England were thoroughly outclassed by the Italians in the Euro 2012 quarter-final but for most teams, getting to a penalty shoot-out would offer a 50/50 chance of progression. But not England. Young and Cole are both perfectly capable of scoring penalties, the former did so for Aston Villa and the latter has netted for Chelsea in two Champions League final shoot-outs. But with the national team, they couldn't do the business when it mattered. As Hodgson has said since the latest defeat, it is impossible to prepare for the exact conditions of a penalty shoot-out as the pressure and intensity of the situation is just not one that can be recreated on the training ground. If England cannot prepare effectively for this situation, they need to aim not to find themselves in the situation again any time soon. At the World Cup in 2014 and in all future tournaments, it is vital that the team attack and show the initiative required to score goals from open play. The last two penalty shoot-out defeats have followed 0-0 draws after 120 minutes of football in which England have simply not offered enough going forward. Talents like Wayne Rooney, Gerrard and Young have all made their name as attacking players, scoring and creating goals in the Premier League for many years. But for England they seemed more than happy to sit back defending and at times it almost looked like they were doing the unthinkable and playing for a penalty shoot-out. If the psychological barrier of the penalty shoot-out cannot be overcome, then Hodgson and his successors need to ensure the Three Lions can perform at the right end of the pitch during the match itself, and not find themselves staring at another agonising spot-kick induced exit. If we find ourselves facing a shoot-out again in two years time, there won't be a single Englishman watching comfortably.

Hodgson's organisation has England singing from the same sheet

'We're not those people, we're winners' said goalkeeper Joe Hart in reference to the many millions, myself included, who questioned England's ability to escape a group which they eventually topped. And he said it with some conviction. Under Roy Hodgson's guidance this England side finally seem to have some belief and are looking in good form for their quarter-final with Italy this Sunday, and whatever lies beyond that point.

Hodgson hasn't revolutionised things in terms of personnel, but he has introduced some fresh blood in the form of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, a brave choice but one who has looked assured in his one start and two substitute appearances so far. The spine of the Three Lions remains players from the so-called 'Golden Generation' with John Terry, Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole (the latter two closing in on a century of caps) proving critical so far, as well as Wayne Rooney, whose return from suspension was marked with the winning goal against Ukraine on Tuesday. Remarkably, only seven players have scored more goals than Rooney in the history of the European Championship, with his header adding to the four he bagged as an 18-year-old in the group stage of Euro 2004. However, around this spine, players who were admittedly all involved to varying extents under Fabio Capello have finally established themselves. Hart himself has looked imperious in goal, Joleon Lescott's performances have meant his £22m transfer fee, once ridiculed, doesn't look so silly anymore and Scott Parker has justified his recent reputation as England's best midfield enforcer, making the fact he still has less than twenty caps aged 31 seem ludicrous.

Up front Danny Welbeck scorer of the fantastic winner against Sweden, is the only genuine youngster who is currently in the starting line-up, but there are clearly opportunities for many young players to force their way into this side. Andy Carroll has impressed, particularly with his powerful header against Sweden, and with substitutes of the calibre of Theo Walcott, Carroll and Jermain Defoe at his disposal, Hodgson certainly doesn't lack options to change things during a game. Yet what Hodgson has done so well in this tournament so far is not so much his selection of the squad or even selection of starting line-ups but the way he has imposed organisation upon a group of players who didn't look like they knew what they were doing in World Cup 2010 and the failed qualification for Euro 2008. Unlike in the past where notably Steven Gerrard, amongst others, has been played out of position, Hodgson is playing to his squad's strength. A 4-4-2 with a focus on Gerrard and Parker screening a reliable defence with the creative Ashley Young and hard-working James Milner on the flanks has done the business so far. There remain cries for Walcott to start in Milner's place but Hodgson will be thinking that if it's not broken, why fix it? Welbeck and Rooney's partnership has worked effectively for Manchester United this season and Hodgson is likely to stick with them, utilising Carroll and Defoe from the bench and having the further option of playing Young as a second striker (as he did against France) with Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left wing. Rooney may have jeopardised England's chances with his foolish suspension, but there is no denying his talent and will to win, something which will be crucial in the latter stages of the tournament.

The FA have also improved the perception of the England squad through their release of exclusive videos of players relaxing and socialising, as well as the decision to base themselves in the city of Krakow instead of in isolation, as was the case in Rustenberg, South Africa. This positivity coming from the England squad is working wonders to give England a new direction and the nation a new attitude towards the national football team. There is still a long way to go to make amends for the disappointments of the last few years but things are on the up. With Hodgson at the helm, and a new national football centre (St George's Park) set to be complete later this year, youngsters will be looking forward to getting involved with the England set-up more than in previous years. Concerns must remain over the central midfield, with the first choice four of Gerrard, Parker and the now-injured Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard all the wrong side of thirty. In Jack Wilshere, Tom Cleverley and Jack Rodwell there are three extremely talented players who could be part of the England set-up for the next decade and more, but all three have suffered badly from injuries and Hodgson will be desperate to see them returning to action in the near future. If they do, and with other youngsters such as Welbeck, Carroll, Oxlade-Chamberlain and (the as yet unused at the Euros) Phil Jones coming through, the road to Brazil 2014 will look like a pleasant one. Even if England do crash out to Italy on Sunday, this tournament would have been a success and an improvement. Some of Hodgson's decisions may remain dubious (the inclusion of Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson amongst others) but he has England organised and thinking positively. As Greece proved emphatically in 2004, organisation can get you a very long way.

Enjoy it while it lasts: Dramatic group stages' days are numbered.

Last night Cristiano Ronaldo took centre stage as Portugal swept aside a disappointing Dutch outfit to secure their place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 in what was a fantastic spectacle, typical of the tournament so far. In Group B, any of the four teams could still have qualified or been eliminated with just one game to play. At multiple stages it looked like three teams could have finished level on points, with a vicious circle of head-to-head results meaning it would have come down to goal difference or goals scored, both of which were extremely tight. As it happened Germany and Portugal , on nine and six points respectively, finished well clear of Denmark who had three points and the pointless Holland. This followed on from a fascinating night in Group A where Russia and Poland, both of whom had looked likely to qualify with the former heavily tipped as outsiders to win the tournament, were both eliminated by the Czech Republic and Greece, who had both looked poor in their opening two games.

This incredible drama looks set to continue into the next two match days with Spain, Croatia and Italy battling out for two places in Group C and England, France and Ukraine doing likewise in Group D. The drama for the tournament is pretty much as perfect a format for a European Championship as you could possibly want, with the quarter-finals looming in the near future. So what a terrible, terrible shame it is that UEFA’s executive committee has allowed the tournament to expand to 24 teams for Euro 2016. The addition of eight teams means there will now be six groups of four teams, as opposed to four. UEFA had two likely options for the format from this point and, though the decision will not be confirmed until later this year, it looks likely that they will be introducing an extra knockout round of 16, meaning the four best third-placed teams will escape the group along with the top two. The propensity for this formula to kill drama is extreme to say the least. Based on last night’s group, Denmark may still have qualified despite losing their second and third games. There would even be scenarios where teams could qualify with a solitary point. The other option would be going straight to the quarter-finals with the six winners and only two runners-up qualifying from the group but this is unlikely as UEFA appear keen to introduce an additional round.

The last sixteen format, with the four best third-placed teams qualifying was used in the World Cup between 1986 and 1994, before the worldwide tournament was expanded to 32 teams. Back then, the likes of Bulgaria and Uruguay progressed from groups despite drawing two and losing one of their three group games, removing much of the early tournament drama. Furthermore, the increase to 24 will mean almost half of the 53 UEFA nations will participate in the tournament, not only weakening the quality of the teams in the finals, but making qualification much simpler for the higher ranked nations. Scenarios such as England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008 will be nigh on impossible. Presumably the top two teams from each qualifying group would qualify, with third placed teams entering play-offs. If this format had been around for the current tournament, the likes of Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Estonia would have been making appearances and even Armenia, Israel and Scotland could have been in with a chance through the play-offs. Spain would have essentially qualified after only five matches played. This lack of competitiveness could hinder nations by the time big tournaments came around.

Having said this, it isn’t all doom and gloom. An expanded tournament could allow for more interest across the continent and the extra round and groups would mean 51 games instead of 31, meaning the Euros would provide a lot more football for goal-hungry fans in the summer period. Participation in finals tournaments for mid-ranking nations like Estonia and Armenia would help improve the standards of football and facilities in those nations and provide additional revenue. However, the drama of qualification (remember England still needed at least a draw in their final qualifier with Montenegro) and the group stages, such as this year’s group of death would almost certainly never be repeated. All the true excitement will likely wait until the knockout rounds of the tournament when the wheat would finally be separated from the chaff. So make sure to savour Euro 2012. You will probably never see a major tournament of its high quality again.

Shevchenko's chivalry, Dutch disappointment and rampant Russians: Six moot points from Euro 2012 so far.

1, Andriy Shevchenko is a genuine superstar

He may be 35 years old and have his reputation long-since tarnished by his ill-fated stint at Stamford Bridge but Andriy Shevchenko is a national icon in Ukraine. His brace of headers in the co-hosts' opening victory over Sweden were the 47th and 48th that he had netted for his country, putting him 33 goals clear of the nearest challenger for Ukraine's top scorer - his former strike partner at Dynamo Kiev, Serhiy Rebrov. While Rebrov retired in 2009 and is now assistant manager of the national team, Sheva is still doing the business on the pitch and was delighted to be the match-winner in the stadium where he used to be a ball-boy before making it as a young striker at Dynamo. Ukraine are still up against it to qualify from the group at the expense of either France or England but if anybody can inspire his team-mates it is the living legend in the number 7 shirt.

2, Cristiano Ronaldo needs to find his Real Madrid form for Portugal.

The international and club careers of Cristiano Ronaldo appear to be moving in opposite directions. Unless the Portuguese winger-cum-striker can make something happen for A Selecção against Denmark and Holland then it could be the earliest end to a tournament yet for the 2008 World Player of the Year and his team-mates. While the 27-year-old has gone from strength to strength with Real Madrid, netting an outrageous 60 goals in all competitions last season, he seems to be playing an increasingly minor role in each passing international tournament. Back in Euro 2004 when Ronaldo was still a fringe player at Manchester United, he was named in the team of the tournament after scoring twice and impressing as his team reached the final. In World Cup 2006, despite the infamous wink, Ronaldo starred as the Portuguese reached the semi-finals. However in both Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010, despite a burgeoning reputation from his achievements at club level, Ronaldo could only net once and his team exited timidly in the first knockout match they played. The man from Madeira has other capable team-mates such as Fabio Coentrao, Pepe, Nani and Raul Meireles but he will need to find his shooting boots if the Portuguese are to make an impact on this tournament.

3, The Dutch may have reached their peak in 2010


Most people were surprised to see Holland lose their opening game 1-0 to Denmark thanks to a goal from Brondby's Michael Krohn-Dehli but a closer analysis reveals a team that may already have peaked. Wesley Sneijder, by all accounts, hasn't recreated his form of Inter's treble season and his 2010 World Cup performances in the past two seasons and Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben have both been wasteful at international level, as was exemplified with some sloppy finishing on Saturday. Looking beyond the front trio of superstars, there are some fairly average international players such as Everton's John Heitinga and AZ's Ron Vlaar as well as the unproven 18-year-old Jetro Willems and Mark Van Bommel, who while a great leader on the pitch, is certainly well past his best. It is obviously still early days and if Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder and Ibrahim Affelay turn up against Germany, the Dutch may still have enough to make an impact on this tournament. If they lose, it will be a long way back from here. Bert van Marwijk certainly has his work cut out, and may look at introducing Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from the start next time.



4, England are more organised under Hodgson than they were under Capello


In the 1-1 draw with France which opened Group D, the Three Lions showed a level of discipline and organisation which had often been lacking in recent years despite the disciplinarian regime of Fabio Capello. Roy Hodgson's system of two banks of four with one deeper-lying striker successfully stifled France and earned a vital point. Whereas in the past there has been difficulty shoe-horning the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, David Beckham and Paul Scholes into an effective midfield, this time Gerrard and Scott Parker provided a largely effective shield for the back four. James Milner also proved diligent defensively from the right wing and the surprise starter Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain didn't look completely out of place in a major tournament. France's possession play was penetrative at times, particularly through goalscorer Samir Nasri, but they left much to be desired in the finishing department and ultimately a draw was a fair result. Hodgson will, however, need to install more creativity for the remaining group games as it is hard to remember either Danny Welbeck or Ashley Young having a sniff of goal and England only had five shots to Les Bleus' 21. A good foundation to build from, but Hodgson's men cannot afford to rest on their laurels.

5, Russia genuinely could be dark horses for this tournament


One of the most eye-catching performances of the opening round of fixtures was the Russians' stunning 4-1 victory over a poor Czech Republic side. In Alan Dzagoev they seem to have a class act in the making and his two goals and all-round performance only whetted the appetite for more. The number 17 turns 22 this Sunday and if he keeps performing in this tournament then CSKA Moscow will do well to keep hold of him beyond this summer. Elsewhere in the team Andriy Arshavin shone in a way which would have infuriated Arsenal fans who saw the worst of him last season before he returned to Zenit St.Petersburg on loan. Roman Shirokov, Aleksandr Kerzhakov and goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev also help form the core of a talented side, and Dutch coach Dick Advocaat has got them playing a brand of fast-paced attacking football which will have the purists purring. On this form, nobody will be relishing the possibility of facing Advocaat's boys in the knockout stages.

6, UEFA probably did get it terribly wrong in choosing Poland and Ukraine


I'm all for taking major football tournaments to new parts of the world, but with the hooliganism problems which are well known in Poland and Ukraine it certainly does seem to be a poor decision to stage Euro 2012 there. The empty seats at many stadiums as well as the multiple instances of alleged racial abuse which have already occurred are surely enough evidence but as the tournament goes on it is likely that it will only get worse. There were reportedly less than 800 France fans in the 52,000 capacity Donbass Arena in Donetsk and less England fans are believed to have travelled than to many previous tournaments - largely because many have been put off by the fear of Ukrainian ultras. With incidents of alleged racial abuse towards Theodor Gebre Selassie of the Czech Republic and Italy's Mario Balotelli already under investigation, as well as the widely reported incidents during an open Holland training session, it begs the question how such countries deserve to host such a fantastic tournament. We can only fear that Russia 2018 will be more of the same...

Why Rio Ferdinand is right to ask 'What reasons?????!!!'

The omission of Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards from Roy Hodgson's original England squad for Euro 2012 raised plenty of eyebrows. But the furore which has erupted since both were again overlooked in favour of Liverpool's reserve right-back Martin Kelly has seen many fans in complete disbelief and faith in Hodgson starting to waver before a single competitive game has been played. And rightfully so.

By citing 'football reasons' for the omission of Ferdinand, Hodgson was always playing a dangerous game. Anybody who has been following the Premier League closely this season could see that Ferdinand had enjoyed a magnificent campaign for Manchester United, particularly since the turn of the year. Having not missed a game through injury since January, fitness no longer seemed to be an issue. In fact Ferdinand had made more league appearances this season than in any season since 2007/08. His excellent timing, positional sense, disciplinary record and passing ability ensure that he remains one of the best, if not the very best, defenders that England have to offer. If there genuinely are football reasons keeping the 33-year-old out of the squad then it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what they are. As Ferdinand tweeted, 'What reasons?????!!!'.

The general consensus seems to be that Ferdinand has been omitted because it is impossible to include both him and Chelsea captain John Terry in the same squad, due to the latter's impending court case for alleged racial abuse against Ferdinand's younger brother Anton. Yet with Terry's form tailing off shockingly at the end of the season, with two poor performances against Liverpool striker Andy Carroll and that foolish red card at the Nou Camp ruling him out of the Champions League final where his club coped fantastically in defence without him, it seems bizarre that 'football reasons' have kept him in the squad at Ferdinand's expense. Don't mistake me, Terry is certainly one of the best defenders in the country, and in an ideal world both him and the Manchester United man would be named in the squad, but if one is to be ditched to accommodate the other then surely the Chelsea man should be the one to meet the axe. Not only was his end of season form poor, but earlier performances such as the 5-3 home defeat to Arsenal where he slipped to allow Theo Walcott to score stand out. In fact, this season he oversaw a Chelsea defence which let in more goals than they had in any season since 1996/97 with his lack of pace being exposed on several occasions. Furthermore, Terry has proven a disruptive influence to the England squad in the past, with his infamous press conference at South Africa 2010 where he seemed to rebel against Fabio Capello's management (despite already having been stripped of the captaincy for the first time) and the reaction to the initial incident with Anton Ferdinand, when he was given the cold shoulder by many of his England team-mates during the international break in November. One of those team-mates was believed to be the Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott who is now in pole position to partner Terry during the Euros. This is hardly ideal for team morale.

In contrast, Ferdinand has proven a popular character within the England dressing room and has never caused any controversy in the same manner as Terry. Ferdinand is further galled by the fact he had declared he was happy to be included in the squad with Terry and form a working relationship, despite the impending court case. If Terry is found to be guilty in the court case which is scheduled for July, just days after the end of the tournament, then the FA and Hodgson's decision to include him will come under even more scrutiny. Having been stripped of the captaincy for the second time earlier this year purely because of his involvement in the case itself, it does seem almost hypocritical for the player to be included at all. If Hodgson genuinely is including Terry for 'football reasons' then it really does beg the question of how much he understands about football itself. His lack of knowledge was horrendously exposed in his first England press conference when he cited Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's performance against Andrea Pirlo in the Champions League as a reason to include the youngster. Pirlo had left AC Milan the previous summer for Juventus so was therefore clearly not involved in the Arsenal vs Milan last 16 tie.

Richards' omission also comes across as unsavoury and irrational. There are rumours of a rift with the F.A but few people would consider Glen Johnson to be a better right-back than the Manchester City man, both in terms of defensive diligence or attacking prowess. City's number 2 is coming off the back of a fantastic season where he has won the Premier League title and made his debut for England as far back as 2006. His credentials for squad inclusion were clear, particularly with the withdrawals of both Chris Smalling and Kyle Walker through injury. The fact Hodgson didn't even have the decency to phone Richards himself to let him know of his omission stinks of bad manners and it is no surprise that Richards then said 'no thanks' to being placed on the standby list. It is clear that both Richards and Ferdinand should be included in the starting line-up for 'football reasons', let alone being called up to the squad.

With other dubious decisions including the call-ups for Kelly, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Johnson, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson and the omissions of Daniel Sturridge, Michael Carrick, Aaron Lennon, Adam Johnson and Peter Crouch it is hard to gauge exactly what Hodgson is thinking. Looking at the statistics for all of the above-mentioned players it is clear that the ones being left out are coming off the back of better seasons in terms of appearances, goals etc than those being included. What is for sure is that there is only one way for Hodgson to justify his decisions - and that is taking Euro 2012 by storm. He'll need every bit of luck that he can get.