Ahead of the Game: FA start the hunt

AHEAD OF THE GAME

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Friday, October 19, 2007. 1600 BST
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The news in 60 seconds

FA START THE HUNT
Brian Barwick has backed Steve McClaren but Soho Square insiders say that the search for a new England manager will begin soon. Leading candidates include Martin O'Neill, Jurgen Klinsmann and Jose Mourinho, even though the former Chelsea coach wants a club job. No, Mr Gartside, he wants a big club.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/euro_2008/article2690053.ece

ENGLAND'S STRUCTURAL FLAW
Martin Samuel says the next England manager must configure a side that can play in more than one formation. The situation is so bad that Martin uses Mathieu Flamini as an example of the type of player we need to produce. Which begs the question: can't we go in for Arsene again?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/martin_samuel/article2690198.ece

TERRY SURGERY
John Terry will be unavailable to Chelsea for three weeks after having an operation on his injured knee today. Ashley Cole, his club-mate, will miss a month after hurting his ankle. Both players did the damage on England duty. Oh, how we missed them.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/chelsea/article2695696.ece

ISRAEL WILL 'NOT SURRENDER'
The Israeli FA have denied conspiracy theories that the national team will lose against Russia - thus ensuring their qualification for Euro 2008 - because of the close ties between the countries' football set-ups. "Israel is not a country that would surrender," a touchy official said. He's probably right.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/euro_2008/article2690011.ece

BILIC ACTS FUNNY
Not only does Slaven Bilic, the Croatia coach, have expert management skills but he also does a neat line in black humour. He told reporters England will qualify for Euro 2008. Hilarious.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/euro_2008/article2693401.ece

FOXES SPURN BOLTON
Leicester City have rejected a request from Bolton Wanderers to talk to Gary Megson about replacing Sammy Lee. "I showed immense faith in Gary after a sustained period out of the game," said Milan Mandaric, the Leicester chairman, with a fact that makes Bolton's inquiry only more odd.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/bolton/article2694580.ece

BECKHAM ON THE MEND
Golden Balls has made his first appearance for LA Galaxy since injuring his knee in August, coming on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with New York. "He's rusty," his manager, Frank Yallop, said. "He hasn't hit many corners in a while." No corners? Goddam, what does he do with his offense overtime?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article2693256.ece

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>>>>> FANTASY FOOTBALL WITH BRAINS <<<<<
* Register today for PlayTheGame - the major league
* It's free and you can still enter
* Win monthly prizes and tickets to the Euro 2008 final
* http://www.timesonline.co.uk/playthegame
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I f you've got another couple of minutes

PELE ADMIRES BLADES DISPLAY!
Tony Currie, Neil Warnock, Dean Windass . . . Sheffield United could have chosen from a longish list of native heroes to open two new exhibitions at the club but instead they chose a certain Brazilian interloper. Yes, Pele will head to Yorkshire next month to unveil one display commemorating the club's 150-year anniversary and another marking 30 years since the U-21 match at Bramall Lane in which Laurie Cunningham became the first black player to represent England. Simon McCabe, an incredulous club director, said: "When Pele heard about our exhibitions, he immediately wanted to be involved."

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59%
Steve McClaren's win ratio as England manager. Brian Ashton's is 53%, although that will improve tomorrow night. Oh, yes, it will.
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A quickie before you go, sir?
Imagine if Bilic was serious. Imagine if he really believed Israel could beat Russia. Is there evidence to back him up? Well, this clip of the Chelsea wonderkid Ben Sahar suggests as much. Watch his peformances for Israel U-21s or the two goals he scored for the senior team against Estonia and you'll quickly realise the 18-year-old has rare strength and skill, and serious finishing ability. Chelsea, incidentally, signed him from Hapoel Tel Aviv for only £320,000. Are there really no special ties? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAPywsVf15A

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>>>>> THE TABLOID SCANDAL <<<<<
Speedy ace: Roo unc in TV rap - The Sun
What you need to know: 1.) Wayne Rooney's favourite uncle has been fined £4,000 for illegally showing Sky Sports football in his pub. 2.) Both of the incriminating games featured Liverpool, against Chelsea in the Community Shield and Sheffield United in the Premiership. 3.) His uncle, John Morrey, has sold the boozer. 4.) Well, if you're going to watch Sheffield United you may as well drown your sorrows in drink . . .
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In TheGame

Gabriele Marcotti has responded to your comments on The Game Podcast . Apparently the co-presenter of our podcast also appears on Chelsea TV but only because it helps him to escape babysitting duties.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/audio_video/podcasts/thegame/article2645945.ece
Wearing his other hat as a Times columnist, Gabriele has won your praise for his suggestion that Fifa base their player of the year award only on media hype and performances in TV adverts.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/gabriele_marcotti/article2658345.ece
Rob from CFC Net has won Fan of the Month for his erudite contributions to Fanzine Fanzone . While many at Stamford Bridge lost their head, Rob kept his and wrote the best biased analysis of the south London soap opera you'll find online.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/fanzine_fanzone/
England's Euro 2008 campaign has had some terrible results but it also inspired some excellent journalism. We've trawled The Times' archive and compiled the best reports and analysis from the games that hurt the most.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/euro_2008/article2686254.ece

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>>>>>THE RIVALS<<<<<
* Mourinho: I want to be the boss of England - The Sun
* O'Neill top of the list - Daily Mail
* McClaren doing good job, say FA - Daily Telegraph
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Joe Bloggs' Soapbox

"Now that David Dein is not in the way, why not add Arsene Wenger to the [England manager] candidates? He commands the respect of players, does not suffer egos gladly, develops young players almost beyond their potential and knows our national game intimately. Oh yes, I forgot. He's much too big a personality for the FA to manage. After all, someone who has been involved in the England set-up over the years is available. Sammy Lee, anyone?"
Howard Broadwell, Nottingham. Agree with your first suggestion, Howard, but we shouldn't even joke about the second one.

"Martin [Samuel], you keep saying that England only lost in Croatia because of a goalkeeping error. May I remind you that Croatia had 18 shots compared to England's one in that game and could have been out of sight by half-time, if it wasn't for Paul Robinson. Slaven Bilic was nice to the British media in saying that England played well, he was totally different in his thinking when speaking to the Croatian press. His exact words were, 'England were completely outclassed tonight.'"
Goran, our man in Zagreb, helps to explain Bilic's funny turn.

Tomorrow's news today

- Martin O'Neill on why England can still qualify for Euro 2008. He is serious.
- Lehmann future in doubt
- The Fink Tank: reports from the football laboratory.

And expect...

Bilic to tell Croatian media that the closest England fans will get to Switzerland and Austria next year is on a two-centre ski trip.

ROBERT DINEEN

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