Possible England XI vs Peru

Handy Andes

The last time England played a South American side at Wembley they were easily beaten 2-0. An Alexis Sanchez masterclass saw Chile give Roy Hodgson's men a frosty reminder of the quality waiting for them at the World Cup in Brazil.

On this occasion the England gaffer is likely to field a more experimental team, giving himself the opportunity to have a closer look at the abilities of Luke Shaw, Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana. The selection below is just one possibility for Hodgson to follow.

GK: Hart
DF: Baines, Cahill, Jagielka, Johnson
MF: Gerrard, Barkley, Henderson
FW: Lallana, Rooney, Sturridge

Barkley's card to Brazil
Everton's vibrant youngster is battling with Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson for a position among the central three. For this friendly, at least, Barkley has the chance to prove he warrants a key role in the national side beyond his recent cameo appearances as a late substitute.

Any link-up play with Gerrard and the advanced wingers will be pivotal to his opportunity to impress. With piercing runs from deep, a goal from Barkley's boot is more likely than for any other England midfielder. Fans of Newcastle, Norwich and Manchester City can appreciate that.

Pressure on Johnson
In the absence of Kyle Walker, Glen Johnson has become the only natural right back in the entire World Cup squad. At 29 years old and with 50 senior international caps, the Liverpool player should be reaching the peak of his abilities.

Whether Hodgson opts to try out the other workmen full-backs, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, largely depends on the guaranteed defensive security of his right flank. Portsmouth's former creative runner will need to curb his innate enthusiasm for getting forward to convince the management team that he can hold firm against the world's best wingers.

Lallana's Late Push
Since assisting Daniel Sturridge's late winner against Denmark, Southampton's star figure has continually impressed both fans and commentators with his performances in the domestic league. Only a foolish coach would not start him in any of the exhibition games before the Italy encounter on June 14th.

As a testament to his importance over the last twelve months, Lallana has featured in all 38 of the Saint's Premier League fixtures this year and added nine goals to his decent tally from previous campaigns. A move to one of the big teams will surely occur after the tournament has been decided.

The Yorker Football Show Ep. 2

Hello again. I am pleased to say that this new episode is a big improvement on the pilot. I analyse the rebirth of the 4-3-3 in the Premier League and the implications this will have for the England World Cup side.

For the third episode I will be joined by a panel of guests to discuss some teams to watch at the ever-approaching festival of football.

The Yorker Football Show Ep. 1 (Pilot)

This season may be nearly over but the football never ends. In the video embed below is the pilot episode of the Yorker's new football show. Coverage includes the World Cup and the FA Cup final.

As merely the starting pointing on a long journey towards the hallowed turfs of Rio de Janeiro and Manaus, the standard of coverage is not great. In little time however, future episodes will make Football Focus look rather drab in comparison. At least, that is the intention.

End of Season Awards

PFA, Football Writers', LMA: Nobody cares about those awards. It's all politics, eh? How about an honest appraisal of the great and glorious 2013/14 season. And the winners are...

Goal of the Season - Luis Suarez vs Norwich
Oh this was a screamer. No, not the blaster from 40 yards out. I mean the the Uruguayan's third goal to round off his incredible hat-trick. Ball on the bounce, beats a flurry of dumbstruck canaries and pings a flat stroke into the far corner. A ball has never before been hit with such awesome power yet so little loop.

Biggest Flop - Marouane Fellaini
Twenty-seven million pounds. £27 million. £27,000,000! If Manchester United had invested that much in timber stocks they would have got a better deal. Maybe they did considering how wooden the Belgian midfielder's performances have been.

Overachievers - Hull City
Liverpool's unexpected title race ran them close for this honour but the Tigers have roared their way to an FA Cup final and the best league finish in the club's history. In doing so, Steve Bruce dispelled at least three modern myths: 1. Cup success comes at the cost of league form 2. It takes large summer investment to stay in the Premier League 3. Steve Bruce is an average manager.

Underachievers - Tottenham Hotspur
Summer title contenders? Pffft! The Spurs squad is densely packed with over-paid, over-hyped, tactically unsound 'professionals'. In September Daniel Levy was forced to ask himself how he might replace an individual as gifted as Gareth Bale. Apparently, his answer was to sign a selection of desperately average moaners and groaners. Aside from Christian Eriksen, the only other player to make an impact in such a dreary season was a man largely sidelined until Tim Sherwood rescued him from the scrapheap. Yes, I'm talking about you, Emmanuel.

Most Detrimental January Transfer - Yohan Cabaye
Dear Mr Le Blanc, would you please let me borrow a former squad member of mine for a few weeks next year? I would be very thankful. We all miss him. Please!
From your bestest ever friend, Alan Pardew.

Biggest Banana Skin - The one under Steven Gerrard's foot (Liverpool vs Chelsea)
There has never been a more literal usage for the term "title slip".

The Alex Salmond Award for Scottish Pride - Dundee United
With Ryan Gauld, Andrew Robertson, Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven all pushing for a place in the Scotland XI after an excellent season, the bright youth prospects at Tannadice echo with Southampton's similarly impressive academy products. An SFA Cup victory this weekend will have heads turning among England's league clubs soon enough.

Worst Implosion - Blackpool
After eighteen matches without a win the situation at Bloomfield Road became rather ugly. The Seasiders went from being promotion contenders in November to finishing two points off the relegation zone in May.

Richard Scudamore gaffe of the year - Misogynist emails
Not content with alienating every football fan in Britain with his 'Match 39' proposal a few years back, the Premier League chief has subsequently insulted every woman in the world. The press seem to be angry and demanding more blood than Shylock of Venice. Quick Richard, call Andy Gray; he will know what to do.

Reasons for Relegation at Cardiff City

Fake Tan and Norse Myths

After an embarrassing 7 goal deficit from their last two away outings, Cardiff City are now doomed to reprise their regular place in the Championship. It took the Bluebirds over half a century to fight their way into the top tier, but a single season, coloured by fan protest and boardroom turmoil, has possibly condemned the club to another long Premier League exile.

The not so great Dane Andreas Cornelius.

Once upon a time, the fans dreamed of seeing their boys don the historic blue kit at the highest level. Even that did not work out right. Lucky red? Apparently not.

How could a team which won promotion so comfortably in 2013 become mere goal fodder to the rest of the division within a matter of months? Having found the net on only 31 occasions and conceding a whopping 72 times, few positives can be gleaned from the wreckage of this disastrous campaign.

Back in September the mood was totally different. Malky Mackay had assembled a reasonable, if unglamorous, squad of budding pros to aim for survival. Such optimism was vindicated during the dying throes of August as Manchester City’s star-studded roster was outsmarted in the Welsh capital, beaten by a Fraizer Campbell brace from set pieces.

Unfortunately for the Taffy faithful this type of shock result could not be replicated across their remaining fixtures. Even more damagingly, CCFC have lost resoundingly against similarly drop-threatened sides such as Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and West Ham. A third of their total thirty points which were ultimately scavenged came from the carcasses of the other relegated clubs, Norwich and Fulham.

Nevertheless, results alone are not to blame for a run of consistently poor form. Vincent Tan, the club owner; philanthropist; megalomaniac tycoon and part-time Bond villain made Mackay’s situation untenable by a series of undermining and damaging moves. He continues to claim that the Scottish coach, along with head of recruitment Ian Moody, drastically exceeded their transfer budget without his consent for a selection of underperforming summer signings. Judging by the disappointing contributions of Andreas Cornelius (£8 million), Gary Medel (£11m) and Peter Odemwingie (£2m) the Malaysian entrepreneur is not wrong.

Whatever the justification though, Tan’s actions in publicly shaming his manager significantly unnerved the squad as it approached a crucial phase of December encounters. As the only man willing to bankroll his property on its ludicrous level of debt, Cardiff supporters are tethered to the uncompromising businessman for the foreseeable future.

Contrary to general opinion, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has shown signs of good management since his appointment. Nobody expected the desperate side to claim a 1-0 victory at Southampton or the remarkable last-minute comeback at the Hawthorns. Even so, some of the worst results have come under the Norwegian’s tenure, including the shambolic and damning scoreline away to Sunderland. Following that nightmare, the original super-sub’s men went thirteen miles up the road to play out a lifeless 3-0 loss against a dangerously self-loathing Magpies team. With that meek surrender relegation was confirmed.

In such a tight season amidst the lower reaches of the table, two points could have made all the difference. Alas, such an elusive pair was within grasp of a managerless Cardiff as they faced the stupendously weak Teeside outfit on a cold winter evening. Ten minutes before full time the home side were two goals in front. But with a late mackem double levelling the scores, the greatest opportunity to ever appear at the Cardiff City Stadium – or even the former Ninian Park – withered away into the New Year gloom.

Thus the pendulum in the relegation race had suddenly swung the other way. Along the way Gary Monk inflicted a crushing derby day defeat in his first game as Swansea boss and Wigan Athletic unexpectedly ousted their opponents from the FA Cup.

Nobody can know for sure whether Mackay would have ensured a finish of 17th or above. Still, it remains a fact that the Bluebirds’ most creative player, Jordan Mutch, was signed for a relatively paltry fee from Birmingham nearly two years ago, failing to be consistently picked for the first XI by the former Watford gaffer. Mackay is clearly no corrupt sleazebag but nor is he a footballing genius either.

Premier League Preview (Audio) 2 May

Sounds like Soccer Spirit

This week I am discussing West Ham vs Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United vs Cardiff City with Ming-Ti Chan. Click to be redirected to the file from Soundcloud below to hear our discussion. After five minutes the recording equipment begins to struggle but does not drown out any of what was said.

Future episodes might potentially feature video pieces as well as voice recordings. If you want to be involved in the series then contact me through the Out in the Cold email address.

Click here to listen to the audio blog.