Fabio Reads My Blog!

After last week's revelation that Owen Hargreaves might actually make it into Fabio Capello's WC squad, I was forced to blog about my dumbfoundedness concerning that possibility.  Again, I am a Hargo fan, but he hasn't had any real first-team minutes of which to speak.  Players who are selected for the WC should be in their top form and not a "doubt."  So then the inclusion of Ledley King and Gareth Barry (the very player whose injury sparked the Hargo rumor) in the 30-man squad is suspect. 
The docs at Man City indicated that Barry would be out for at least seven weeks.  If my math is correct, the first WC matches begin a month from now.  That would be four weeks.  Are Capello's possibilities so scarce that he has to include injured players who may not have any chance of playing?  What if one of the current players gets injured?  That would leave Capello with few choices in South Africa.

Being that the Prem League is the toughest league in the world one would think that Capello would have endless choices, but then it serves to remember that so many players we're used to seeing every day in the Prem League are not English.  If you look at United's squad as an example; Valencia (Ecuador), Nani (Portugal), Ji-Sung Park (Korea), Berbatov (Bulgaria), O'Shea (Ireland), Gibson (Ireland), Fletcher (Scotland), Anderson (Brazil), Van der Sar (Netherlands), Evra (France), Obertan (France), and Macheda (Italy).  So it's no surprise that only three of Capello's selections are from United; Rooney, Ferdinand, and Carrick.  I feel for Ben Foster, as he hasn't had enough time in the net this year to turn Capello's eye, and what little time he did enjoy at the beginning of the season was not always positive...United dropped too many points in those games.

Another choice that has me perplexed is David James.  He has a wealth of experience and is a solid keeper, but he plays for Portsmouth.  Long before they were self-relegated by their financial issues, Pompey looked certain to be sent down anyway.  Were their lost points due more to his ineffectiveness or the team as a whole?  Hard to say...but his selection still makes me wonder.

Fabio's Fab Footy Club:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Man City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham)


Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Spurs), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Spurs), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa)

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Man City), Michael Carrick (Man Utd), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Tom Huddlestone (Spurs), Adam Johnson (Man City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Spurs), James Milner (Aston Villa), Scott Parker (West Ham), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City)

Forwards: Darren Bent (Sunderland), Peter Crouch (Spurs), Jermain Defoe (Spurs), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd)

I'm really hoping that the Three Lions do well in South Africa, and if they won it...I would be fine with that!  I want Rooney to be considered for the FIFA World Player of the Year, and for the Ballon d'Or.  English players have never been the favorites for those awards, so Rooney and company will have to put in a stellar performance to break the Brazilian/Spanish/Portuguese bottleneck.