TacticalBet - The England's Dream Team

With the English football team being talked about as in decline, and nobody quite sure who will be managing or playing for the national team this summer at Euro 2012, TacticalBet's decided to run a feature on who England's all-time best 11 has been. From any time span, any candidate will be considered.

Here's how the selection process will work :

We'll reveal the side position by position each few days, logically starting with the goalkeeper working up toward the forwards. The team will line up in a 4-4-2, as traditional as it gets. It'll be done by suggestions from you, the readers, and you can get involved either on here, or by reaching us at our Twitter page. Just search @TacticalBet and you'll find us. You can leave a comment with your suggestion, or get to us at any appropriate way!

So, first up the goalkeepers. Who do you think is the best we've ever had between the sticks? Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton, David Seaman? It's up to you, get involved! In a few days time we'll assess the opinions and let you know just who was England's best number 1.

HA

TacticalBet's Analysis : Has 'Sparky' Lost His Spark?

Mark Hughes has enjoyed a hugely successful career to date, both as a player - winning 2 Premierships and 4 FA Cups - and latterly as a manager with the Welsh national team, Blackburn and Manchester City. Yet, after an un-inspiring season in charge of Fulham which ended in an acrimonious exit, and now struggling to ignite a QPR survival bid, is he starting to struggle as a manager?

In a four year spell at Blackburn in the top flight Hughes earned a 43% win record, exceptionally high for a club of Blackburn's stature, and took them as far as the last 32 in the UEFA Cup, and also an FA Cup run which saw them miss out on a place in the final only in extra-time, to Chelsea. Following this, the man affectionately known as 'Sparky' joined newly funded Man City, and despite being sacked he left with a credible record in charge, winning nearly half his games in charge in an 18 month tenure. So, upon joining Fulham at the start of the last campaign, everybody had high hopes for the club with a manager intend on proving what he'd already shown was exactly what he was capable of, and more. Where did it all go wrong? At Fulham Hughes never settled, drawing more games than he won. Although they did finish 8th, it was by no means a great season, yet the foundations were laid for an improvement and a push on towards the continental places. He verbally agreed to sign a contract extension, but bizarrely left under a week later meaning he'd been at Craven Cottage just 11 months. This, it appears, is the main turning point in both his abilities, and his reputation. After being branded a 'flop' and a 'strange man' by Fulham chairman Al-Fayed, there was much talk that Hughes would fail to land another top job.

So, last month he returned to management, signing a two and a half year contract to manage in London again, this time for Queens Park Rangers. Despite a string of signings, QPR have really struggled under Hughes. While England international Bobby Zamora was a coup for him, a lack of discipline including two first half red cards, along with a equally alarming lack of midfield creativity, means Rangers are just outside the relegation places with just only 12 games remaining. It is clear that Hughes has dropped a significant level, a slow decline which peaked at him chasing the Champions League with Man City, to fighting relegation with QPR. Hughes must arrest this slide, rediscover his 'spark' or he could well find himself a Championship manager come the end of the season, or worse still out of a job.

HA

Carling Cup Preview - Liverpool vs Cardiff

The first trophy of the football season will be won on Sunday at Wembley, but who will follow in Birmingham's footsteps and claim Carling Cup glory? Last time around, it was the Midlanders who stole the show in a shock win over Arsenal, but can Cardiff do the same this year against Liverpool? The Bluebirds are up against it, but you can never be sure on these occasions.

Odds :

Liverpool - 1.5

Cardiff - 10.5

Draw (90 mins) - 5

First Goal :

Cardiff - 3.9

Liverpool - 1.28

0-0 - 12

Kenny Dalglish's men are hot favorites, and rightly so. They've seen off Chelsea and Man City en-route to the final, whearas Cardiff's hardest assignments have been Blackburn and then an all Championship 1/2 final against Crystal Palace - which they won in a dramatic penalty shootout. You can't rule out the Welsh side, but caution tells us to predict a Liverpool win here. You can follow the game live on BBC, and we'll be back with a match report online by Monday morning.

TB's Prediction - Liverpool 2-0 Cardiff

HA

England vs Wales - Prediction

After a week's break, the RBS 6 nations returns and England are preparing themselves to face Wales at Twickenham. The two sides both have 100% records so far in the competition, so it's sure to be a fiercely contesting game. The match kicks off on Saturday 25th of February, at 16-00.

Odds :

England - 2.66

Wales - 1.69

Draw - 27

Winning Margin :

England + 12.5 - 8.6

England - 12.5 - 3.45

Wales + 12.5 - 3.95

Wales - 12.5 - 2.8

To Score :

Ashton - 3.7

Foden - 6.2

Farrell - 9.2

Halfpenny - 4.4

Davies - 4.4

Warburton - 9.6

TacticalBet's prediction - Wales to win it, but by less than 12.5. It'll be a tight affair and both sides will feel confident of victory. There won't be many tries, but you can usually back Wales to cross the white-line and that should be enough to see them home on English soil.

HA

The FA Cup with Budweiser - Odds

After another exciting weekend in the FA Cup it's now onto the quarter final stage, with the draw being done earlier today. Before the games can be played though there are two replays to get through, Stevenage earning a trip to White Hart Lane after frustrating Spurs in a 0-0, and Chelsea face a testing trip to St Andrews after they stuttered to a 1-1 draw against Birmingham on Saturday lunch-time.

These results have had a significant impact on the odds for the Cup, but just who is the favourite now?

Tottenham 3.75

Liverpool 3.75

Chelsea 5.5

Everton 8.4

Sunderland 10.5

Stoke 26

Bolton 42

Birmingham 50

Leicester 62

Stevenage 350

Despite facing a replay, Harry Redknapp's men are still favourites for glory, alongside Liverpool who thumped Brighton 6-1 today to earn their place in the next round. Perhaps these lower odds also reflects that they both have home ties to look forward to now, Liverpool hosting Stoke and Tottenham or Stevenage with Bolton. Chelsea's odds are in recognition of the way that they face a tricky replay against Birmingham who are on a 14 game unbeaten streak, although should they navigate that on the 6th of March they could be made favourites, seeing as they have another Championship side in Leicester lying in wait. The all Premiership affair at Goodison Park gives one of Everton or Sunderland the chance to go to Wembley, and Everton are shorter odds that O'Neil's men to taste success. This is mostly down to home advantage, but both sides are in good form so are threats in this competition.

TacticalBet's prediction would be Liverpool - Kenny Dalglish's has got his side working well in the cup competitions this season, and a home tie to Stoke will only heighten the excitement on Merseyside. However, with there were shocks in this round, and there is sure to be in the next round.

HA

Feature Game - Chelsea vs Birmingham

It's the FA Cup 5th round this weekend, and our game of the week is at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea host fellow Blues Birmingham City in a lunch-time clash. It's been a troubled few weeks for Andre Villas Boas, with some job speculation flying around about his position. It's almost the opposite for Chris Hughton, who's led his side into the playoff places in the Championship, and they're in great form. Potential for an upset, perhaps?

Chelsea 1.33

Birmingham 11.5

Draw 5.9

It's clear from the odds that the Londoners remain firm favourites, and it's clear to see why despite their recent struggles. They rarely lose to lower league opposition in the competition, Barnsley the only memorable on in the last 15 or so years, and they have in fact won the FA Cup most out of any team in the country this millenium. Triumphs in 2000, 2007, 2009 and 2010 serving to show their pedigree here. Birmingham did of course lift the Carling Cup last season, but after their summer relegation they've lost a few key players and will need something special here.

TB's Match Prediction - Chelsea 2-0 Birmingham

HA

TacticalBet's Sporting Update

Time for a quick look at what's been going on in the world of sport across the globe, and also a glance ahead at what to expect this weekend and beyond.

Firstly, we've now had two match-days in the RBS 6 Nations, although with the late postponement of France vs Ireland obviously there is still one match to be completed. England and Wales now both lead the way with two wins, and they meet each other in the next round of action, with Scotland and Italy the opposite with consecutive reverses. In terms of odds, Wales are now as short as 3.1 to complete a Grand Slam, and they are as low as 2.32 to be outright winner of the tournament. England sit at 6.2 to repeat last years success, but the game against Wales on the 25th of February will go some way to deciding who's favourite.

Cricket is continuing over in Abu Dhabi and Dubai with England taking a 1-0 lead in the ODI series against Pakistan, in the process of looking to avenge their whitewash in the recent Tests. The 2nd match is underway as we speak, with England batting first, and bet-in-play odds can be found on all the top betting sites. Other games coming up in the world of International cricket include Australia and Sri Lanka, and New Zealand against South Africa.

The Barclays Premiership takes a break this weekend, due to the 5th round of the FA Cup, but there is still a full round of fixtures in the lower leagues, obviously excluding the teams who are involved in the tournament still. Stevenage hosting Tottenham is sure to be an exciting clash, and without doubt the tie of the round, the Hertfordshire club are 12/1 to pull of a shock there. Yet, Tottenham are the favourites for the Cup at 4.5, with Liverpool (4.9) and Chelsea (5.3) close behind.

In terms of other sports around worth following, the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona tees off next week, and in tennis the Marseille Open is also beginning soon.

HA

Tottenham Hotspur - Newcastle United

WHITE HART LANE, 5-30pm

ESPN

THFC - 1.57

NUFC - 7.4

DRAW - 4.3

TacticalBet Prediction -

Defoe and Kaboul look set to return for Tottenham, while Taylor, Best and Cabaye all miss out for the visitors today. In our view, despite Newcastle's impressive season to date, Spurs should still have enough to see them off tonight. Bale will be a big player, as he's been irresistible at times this season. For Newcastle, they will hope new boy Papiss Demba Cisse picks up where he left off last time out, when he hit the winner on debut against Aston Villa last Sunday. Our prediction, however, is for a 2-1 Tottenham win, for which you can get odds of 9.2. You heard it here first!

HA

Petr Cech : What's Gone Wrong?

Now heading towards 350 appearances in all competitions for the club, Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech can be considered as something of a veteran for The Blues. Bursting onto the scene in 2004, he played a huge part in Chelsea's back-to-back title triumphs. But, recently a string of high profile errors have opened up the Czech international to a barrage of criticism, which is even starting to creep on from quarters of his own fans. So, just what has gone wrong for him? Obviously the serious head injury in 2007 played a part, but now almost 5 years on, he should have fully recovered mentally from this. There are other issues, and his performances are hindering Chelsea - even if they choose to ignore this issue.

The main issue is that Chelsea, for years now, have opted to have no real competiton to Cech for the number 1 jersey. Since the departure of Carlo Cudicini, there has been no quality waiting in the ranks to pounce upon any dip in form from Cech, and as a result of this he has become complacent. A lack of pressure from within the club is un-healthy, and unarguably serious detrimental. Cech has become embroiled in discussing the club's issues in recent years, yet never talking about his own performance. The state of mind that whatever happens, he will always be the first name on that team sheet, is having an appaling effect on Chelsea's situation. His distribution in the last few seasons has been nothing short of wasteful, a notable example the goal Maxi Rodriguez scored at Stamford Bridge earlier this season. When Arsenal visited, Cech was at fault for 3 of the 5 goals shipped. Today's trip to Everton, and numerous stray kicks and passes later, he fails to deal with a shot straight at him and the game is lost. Such errors simply cannot happen with alarming regularity, yet nothing done or talking about them. Ross Turnbull or Hilario are nowhere near the needed standard in the Premier League, and Chelsea's poor second choice options mean they have to persevere with a goalkeeper who simply isn't performing well enough.

Two examples right under the noses of Chelsea prove this point. First look at Newcastle. Tim Krul came up out of the ranks to provide experienced Steve Harper with this competition, usurped him to the starting berth, and now is being widely acclaimed as one of the stars of the season. Can anybody imagine 36 year old Hilario or Turnbull with only 29 top flight appearances making that step up? Almost certainly not. Aside from Krul rising up to become first choice, Newcastle then went and signed another hotly rated goalkeeper, Rob Elliot from Charlton. The 25 year old is adding more pressure, and the results in Krul's performances are there for all to see. The other example in the Premiership is that of Bolton. Long serving Jussi Jaaskelainen, having played 519 times to date for The Trotters, picked up an injury earlier in the season. In came relatively unknown Hungarian Adam Bogdan, and he's proved more than an adequate replacement, including a penalty save from Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford. Today, Bogdan starts despite Jaaskelainen being fully fit, and the Finnish international is left on the bench.

It must be noted that Chelsea did sign a new shot stopper back in July, Thibault Courtouis from Genk. He's out on loan at Athletico Madrid - and has been in superb form in 2012 so far - and anybody following the situation developing in goal at Stamford Bridge must be in agreement that he must come in next season is Cech doesn't step it up.

HA

England - Odds On The New Man

Odds on the next permanent England manager, as according to Bet365. Harry Redknapp is obviously the leading candidate according to these, but there are others in the mix, and Roy Hodgson would get our vote. It's up to the FA now though...

Redknapp - 1/4

Pearce - 6

Hiddink - 10

Mourinho - 14

Hodgson - 20

Wenger - 33

Shearer - 40

Pardew - 50

Beckham - 66

Venables - 80

It's clear to see Redknapp as the run away leader. Should he be overlooked or turn it down though, there are a whole host of people waiting in line.

HA

Capello - Unfairly Denounced or Rightly Attacked?

As Fabio Capello left his post as England manager last night, there was a great deal of people immediately criticising his performance over the last 4 years. Appointed in 2007, he leaves with a very high win percentage of 67% - the highest ever. So, are these damning statements on Capello's tenure justified, or unfair?

Let's firstly look at the facts. Fabio Capello was, according to percentage, the most successful England manager on a game by game basis. Since his first game in charge, a February 2008 friendly against Switzerland, he went on to guide England to 27 more victories in a further 41 games. While the 2010 World Cup obviously didn't go to plan, with a poor showing, England did get through the groups into the last 16. Under Alf Ramsey (much acclaimed) our national side didn't qualify in 1974, and this also happened in 1978 and 1994. Couple this with failure to reach the knockout stage in 1950, 1958 and 1982, Capello's performance was by no means a shock or a disgrace. Following on from this, he led us to the up-coming European Championships in Poland and Ukraine, where previously in 2008 McClaren did not. We also didn't make it through in 1984, but did Bobby Robson earn a damning verdict after that performance? This all leads to a simple conclusion - Fabio Capello's time as England manager must be considered a success, comparatively. Perhaps the biggest error is the constant over-hyping of the side, not the manager who can leave with his head held high. Most recently, England won against World Champions Spain and then Sweden (previously not beaten since 1958) in back to back friendly towards the end of 2011. A set of superb results, un-deniably.

So where does this negative press come from? Leading writers in high positons have notably come out and said England 'stagnated' under Capello, that they weren't comfortable with a foreign manager in charge. All of this, as shown above, is not true and unfair on the Italian. Mostly, it comes from people so biased towards our own country and it's exports (Redknapp mostly) that they will do anything to deliver a parting shot to the man on the way out. It won't help the search for a new manager, and the sensible members among the public will do well to hope the FA think more carefully about appointing a successor than just quickly going to the favourite Redknapp. With no previous International experience, it would be extremely naive to throw him in a month before a tournament.

The stats, and anybody taking a more in-detail look at Capello's reign, and see it's a bitterly unreasonable criticism of the previous manager from some sections of the media. England went over a year under Capello before tasting defeat, claimed big wins over Croatia, Bulgaria and Switzerland all away, and finally capped it by completing 2011 unbeaten. Surely nobody can claim that the national side had 'ceased to function coherently' and that a change was needed? Such turmoil just before a big competition is the complete opposite of what is needed.

HA

The Six Nations - Review So Far

We've had only the one weekend of the 2012 Six Nations, but already plenty of action and drama to get us talking. Here TacticalBet looks to offer a review of what happened, the odds on the tournament as they stand, along with a brief look on what's coming up soon.

France 30-12 Italy

Ireland 21-23 Wales

Scotland 6-13 England

France were the only home side to claim victory, seeing off an ever improving Italy side who battled hard. The other games ended in away wins, for England and the Wales, the latter clinching a dramatic 2 point win over Ireland with a 79th minute penalty, controversially awarded.

Odds To Win -

France 2.64

Wales 2.78

England 6

Ireland 12

Scotland 85

Italy 330

Grand Slam Odds -

Wales 3.64

France 4.6

England 14

This weekend sees England travel to Italy, and France hosting Ireland on the Saturday, with Sunday's game in Cardiff between Wales and Scotland. Our tip? France to win the tournament outright, yet with no Grand Slam winner. The top teams looks so evenly matched there is sure to be some shocks along the way, and any team claiming 5 wins will have to play exceptionally well indeed.

HA

Newcastle 2-1 Aston Villa

Newcastle's Demba double act saw them clinch an important win on Tyneside this Sunday lunchtime. Ba put them in-front, and despite Robbie Keane's equaliser just before the break, debutant Cisse struck a stunning 20 yard half-volley to seal all three points.

So, can The Magpies actually sneak into the Champions League? They are now level on points with 4th placed Chelsea, and two clear of Arsenal who sit just below them. They do remain outsiders in the betting at 9/1 to clinch the last space ahead of their challengers, but surely that's good odds for a team bang in form. In terms of a top six finish, they've shot down to 2.5.

In terms of that man Demba Ba, he's a mere 1.56 to be the top scorer this season, having netting his 16th in his last 16th Premier League appearances.

HA

TacticalBet Talks Arsenal

In years gone by, as Arsenal's title challenge has slowly faltered away through the season, manager Arsene Wenger has always said that finishing in the Champions League places is 'enough' and that failure to do so would be 'disastrous'. So now, with Arsenal down in 7th with just 15 games left to go, is the same man about to declare it would be acceptable for the club to not dine with Europe's finest in the competition? It can't be denied that it's been a fairly spectacular decline for the Gunners, how just under 8 years ago went an incredible 38 game season completely unbeaten. So, just where has it all gone wrong?

Recruitment

Arsene Wenger has often been labelled as a genius when it comes to recruiting young and talented footballers, and a look at Henry, Anelka and Fabregas tells us why. Those three players were all brought to the club on the cheap as rough gems, and now they boast an astonishing 254 international caps between them. Yet, is the 62 year old losing his touch? Carl Jenkinson was one this season who Wenger and his scouting teams hand-picked from the lower leagues, and so far has had a dreadful campaign. His performances began with a spectacular own goal in pre-season, and other highlights include a red card at Old Trafford. The question that must be asked is that why has Wenger not brought good, experienced players in. Over the recent years you've only got to look at the older players he's brought in to see just why the criticism is coming in. Mikael Silvestre struggled, and Per Mertesacker similarly. There can be no debate that the recruitment has been all wrong, and perhaps this is the reason for their decline. Lee Dixon, for example, played until he was 38 for the club, and now their full backs are almost all under 24, and all out of their depth. That is perhaps the most damning example to show just what's changed, and the negative effect it's had.

Tactics

Arsene Wenger has never been a master tactician, and will never be seen as one. His un-deniable talent lay in nurturing such youngsters shown above and turning them into superstars. However, his tactical mistakes have left Arsenal fans fuming this season, whether they care to admit it or not. Back in August he took a weakened and in-experienced side to face Manchester United. Did he adjust and change his philosophy, make them more secure at the back? No, and they were trounced 8-2. It was such a hammer blow that they still may never recover from it this season. Another, more recent example would be the substitution of Oxlade-Chamberlain in the return fixture, for Arsharvin as the game edged towards it's conclusion. At 1-1, with 'The Ox' having just set up the equaliser, it was delicately poised, but a defensive error from the Russian and the game was lost. Such errors are obviously in-evitable occasionally in such manager's careers, but surely there have been too many this campaign.

Denial

Whatever happens, Wenger's always got an excuse up his sleeve in the post match interview. This must stop if Arsenal are to move on from such failures and start working to success. His verdict on the recent run of 3 defeats in January? (Fulham, Swansea and Manchester United) 'We could have won them.' Wenger must move quickly to adress the issues which lost them the game, and not simply lament on refereeing calls or missed chances. With his side off the pace in the race for 4th, this is imperative. It's by no means over, but for sure they've got some serious work to do.

HA