Over the years England have always had a wrath of great goalkeeping talent. The obvious mentions go to the likes of Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton, Ray Clemence and the likes however more recently England always had strength in depth when it came to this key area. Ten – fifteen years ago David Seaman was regularly England number one with his deputy always capable of taking his place with the likes of Nigel Martyn and a younger version of David James warming the bench, however since the days of Seaman there has never been a keeper who commanded the number one jersey like he did.

Many have come and gone. Paul Robinson ruled the roost for a number of games under Sven and McLaren’s tenures before a series of international errors, such as his miss kick against Croatia, and also poor domestic form with Tottenham led to him being replaced by Gomes at White Hart Lane and David James in the England goal. For a while Ben Foster was given a chance under Capello due to his good form for Birmingham City over the course of the last few seasons however never really excelled enough to guarantee him a number one spot and has found his place in the squad regularly taken by the likes of Watford goalie Scott Loach, untried and untested at such a high level.

Following the disastrous 2010 World Cup display critics argued a case for Joe Hart to replace both David James and Rob Green in goal. Green, infamous for his howler against the U.S.A in England’s opening game, and James, getting on in age, failed to succeed in playing at a high level and that hampered England’s progress in the tournament.

The baton has now been passed on to Manchester City keeper Joe Hart. Following a great loan spell at Birmingham a few years back and now fantastic performances in both the league and Europe for City his time seems to have come. This is a fantastic opportunity for Hart who appears to have come along at the right time. The way he has been playing guarantees that he should be a shoe in for the England squad, competition for the position is thin on the ground and Scott Carson’s move to Turkish side Bursaspor won’t have hampered Hart’s ambitions. Carson has been in and out of England squads over the past few years but has never done enough resulting in only a measly four caps. Stockdale and Fielding are too inexperienced to be considered future number ones as of yet and with Rob Green playing in the Championship this season with West Ham then that basically makes Hart number one by default.

Hart is the future, along with the likes of Danny Welbeck and Jack Rodwell, all they have to do is grab this opportunity, Hart will provide the safe hands.

Spain will, touch wood, be celebrating in Wembley this Saturday

England face Spain on Saturday night in one of the most talked about friendly internationals in some time, thanks to a little red symbol.

Anyway, it should be a fairly one-sided affair at Wembley this weekend, with the World and European Champions running out two, maybe three nil winners.

With that in mind, I really think Spain are a massive price at 10/11 with a number of bookmakers the win the game. Without trying to be too harsh on England, Spain are different class compared to England.

To summarise. Back Spain.

By the way, we would like to apoligise for the lack of articles on the site of late. We will strive to dramatically increase the number of articles we publish on the site over the coming days and weeks.

Despite high expectations for both teams at the World Cup, both left the tournament quite early.

France went out at the group stage, England made it a little further and were knocked out in the Second round.

France have made some changes since then with Laurent Blanc as their new manager, whilst England are still stuck with Capello.

England are the favourites to win this game, they’ve got the home advantage. It’s no major shock that England are favourites to win. According to the Euro 2012 Odds, England are more likely to be crowned European Champions @ 10/1, with France trailing behind @ 14/1 with several bookies. But Spain are going to put up a tough fight to retain their crown. They are the current favourites to win Euro 2012. Wednesday night will be a good opportunity to tell us how England and France are currently performing and whether they have what it takes to take on Spain.

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“It is difficult because as a footballer you know people look up to you. You are role models whether you like it or not. You need to try and be aware of that and try and do your best on the pitch and try and do things well for kids to see.”

“When I first joined United, I used to go out to nightclubs, but it is very rare that I would go out to a nightclub now. It changes with age. I made that decision myself. I got into a few things that I shouldn’t have and I tried to change that. I am settled at home now, and it’s good. I am enjoying my life with my family. When you are home, you get your rest and it is definitely benefiting me.”

I’m sure you have all read what Rooney has been getting up to over the past few months. I have lost all respect for the Manchester United and England striker.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

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In front of a crowd of 72,000 at Wembley, it was good to see Capello’s men begin the process of redeeming themselves after the pain and disappointment of the South Africa. It was a pretty bumpy ride to begin with as some England players were booed by supporters in the first half which ended in a goalless deadlock. The second half saw things begin to improve although Hungary took the lead in the 62nd minute with a controversial goal. Phil Jagielka turned a cross from Vladimir Koman into his own net and although the television replay appeared to show that Michael Dawson had cleared it off the line, referee Stephane Lannoy allowed the goal to stand. Further grounds for bringing in goal line technology many an England fan must have been thinking.

With calamity staring them in the face, England found redemption thanks to a knight in shining armour. That knight was Steven Gerrard who rescued England with two fantastic goals in the space of four minutes. The England captain was in inspired form and he put in a great knights work that gave England the cutting edge that they needed.

Online betting websites are giving odds of 9/1 on England to win the Euro 2012 Tournament – as they are in Group G they will be playing Bulgaria, Montenegro, Switzerland and Wales. First up is Bulgaria who will be visiting Wembley on the third of September. On the evidence of last night’s performance there is still a lot of work for Capello to do. It should not be taken for granted that England will qualify from their group although it has to be said that there are far tougher groups that England could have landed in.

With his choice of players Capello clearly signalled that he wants to bring in new blood. He brought Everton’s Phil Jagielka back into the side and there were debuts for Bobby Zamora, Kieran Gibbs and Michael Dawson. The appearance of Joe Hart in goal was another welcome change. Even before the game had kicked off the England manager had given an indication that the focus would be on building a squad for the Euro 2012 competition when he mentioned that David Beckham was now probably too old to play for England.

We will know a lot more about England’s prospects for Euro 2012 after the Bulgaria game next month – you can bet that that will tell us a great deal about the chances of the Three Lions reaching the final stages of the tournament in Poland and the Ukraine.

This article was written by Totesport for Football Corner.

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There have been suggestions that Frank Lampard’s effort towards to the end of the 2nd half was over the line. At that stage, England were trailing Germany 2-1 and a goal before the break would have no doubt changed the whole complection of the game.

But the Uruguyan referee waved away the England protests and as a result, the Germans went in ahead at the break. Fabio Capello’s men eventually lost the game 4-1 in Bloemfontein and as a result, it is Germany who progress to the quarter-finals in South Africa.

Personally, I’m not convinced the Jabulani ball had crossed the line but we want to know what you think. Place your votes below.

Who knew that the England v Slovenia game would make or break England’s World Cup campaign. This game was supposed to be a walk over. But after England’s mediocre performance against USA and Algeria, this game has taken on a whole new level of importance. Click here to get the latest
England v Slovenia Odds

England aren’t looking too solid at the back, so we could see a game with a few goals in it. Back over 2.5 goals. The odds are generous at the moment, and it’s a very likely outcome. Back both teams to score, with a final result of 2-1.

As for first goalscorer, Mr. Shrek himself Wayne Rooney has been in the headlines this week after turning on the England fans. But whatever you say about him, he can deliver goals!.He has been a bit slow to start with disappointing performances so far. But he is favourite to be first goalscorer in England v Slovenia. Back him for first goalscorer or to score anytime during the game.

For a full England V Slovenia preview visit www.worldcupodds.eu. Get the latest odds, expert tips and free bets.