Posts Tagged ‘Birmingham City’
Zamora for England? Maybe, just maybe!
Just a few short months after he was barracked by his own fans, the chances of Fulham striker Bobby Zamora securing a place in England’s World Cup squad seem to be improving rapidly.
Zamora was seen as a bit of a joke figure at Craven Cottage in the run-up to Christmas, with his boss Roy Hodgson at something of a loss to explain why they would be turning on one of their own players.
But the 29-year-old has proved to be something of a revelation in the three months since that low point, taking his tally to nine goals in his last 15 games when he scored the match-winning free-kick in the 2-1 victory over Birmingham City on Sunday.
Zamora has goals in each of the last four games and suddenly it is not just Hodgson clamouring for him to get a chance in Fabio Capello’s squad – and it is interesting that the Italian was at Craven Cottage to see Sunday’s match with only Zamora and Birmingham keeper Joe Hart as serious possibles for his squad on show.
Sadly for Zamora, Capello had already left his seat by the time Zamora scored, but Hodgson felt his overall performance would have done enough to impress and could be enough to earn him a call-up for the first pre-World Cup friendly against Egypt on March 3.
What of the competition? Well, if we split the striking options up, it seems almost certain that Wayne Rooney (100% certain if fit) and Jermain Defoe will go to South Africa, while Peter Crouch has often been favoured by Capello as the main target man.
Much will, then, depend on the make-up of the squad. If Capello takes only four strikers, as has been mooted, then Zamora will be contending with the likes of Emile Heskey (probably still the favourite), Carlton Cole, Darren Bent (disappointing recently) and Gabriel Agbonlahor for just one spot on the plane.
On this season’s evidence, Zamora and Agbonlahor would be the favourites with World Cup Betting, with Cole unable to find the net regularly or stay fit, Heskey having scored only five times and Bent having hit the wall since a fast start to the campaign.
Far-fetched it might still be, but you certainly can’t fault Zamora for his effort as he tries to score his way into the squad. Something World Cup Picks are far from ruling out.
Tags: Birmingham City, Bobby Zamora, Cambria, Craven Cottage, Emile Heskey, Fabio Capello, Fareast, Favoured, Font Definitions, Font Format, Four Games, Free Kick, Fulham, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Jermain Defoe, Joe Hart, Mso, Orphan, Panose, Paper Source, Peter Crouch, Roy Hodgson, Sans Serif, Striker, Strikers, Style Definitions, Style Name, Style Type, Tally, Target Man, Theme Font, Times New Roman, Wayne Rooney, World Cup Squad
Substance not style the key to Premier League survival
It has become Premier League convention for promoted teams to aim for no more than survival in their first season in the top flight. With West Bromwich Albion seemingly doomed and Stoke City just as safe, it is down to Hull City to determine whether 2008/09 has been a good season for last year’s promoted clubs.
The Tigers were football favourites for the drop from the season’s outset, even during their stunning start, and the clubs who come up from the Championship this time around will also be expected to make a swift return to the second tier.
Champions Wolverhampton Wanderers have been the division’s best team all year but will be alarmed by the manner in which West Brom have struggled – the Baggies were by far the best Championship team in 2007/08 and looked better-suited for survival than both Stoke and Hull.
Wolves have looked like being joined by Birmingham City for some time, but the Blues are stuttering at the wrong time and could miss out on the last day – they travel to Reading, who can also still clinch an automatic
promotion spot, whilst Sheffield United, whose result Birmingham need to at least match, visit mid-table Crystal Palace.
If Alex McLeish’s outfit do return to the top flight at the first time of asking, they will perhaps be the team most likely to survive next term. They might be wracked by manager-boardroom disputes and supporter dissatisfaction with the style of football – City have scored 27 fewer goals than Wolves this campaign – but their squad has the greatest look of Premier League quality about it.
Their no-nonsense approach will stand them in good stead, as West Brom are proof that free-flowing football that works in the Championship is hard to reproduce at the top level.
The other three teams in the play-off picture are Cardiff City, Burnley and Preston North End, all of whom would be making their Premier League debut. Whether fellow first-timers Hull act as inspiration or warning will soon become apparent.
Tags: Alex Mcleish, Automatic Promotion, Baggies, Birmingham City, Boardroom, Burnley, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace, Hull City, League Debut, League Quality, League Survival, Mid Table, Nonsense Approach, Preston North End, Sheffield United, Swift Return, Top Flight, West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers