| Davies's England career may be short Kevin Davies should enjoy his moment in the international spotlight whilst he can because history suggests it will be briefWhen Harold Wilson stood down as prime minister and leader of the Labour party in 1976 to be succeeded by Jim Callaghan he quipped that the time had come for him "to make way for an older man". It is doubtful that Emile Heskey's decision to spurn Fabio Capello's invitation to come out of international retirement for England's game against Montenegro was couched in similar terms, but the call-up of Kevin Davies, at 33 a year older than the rejuvenated Aston Villa forward, has had the same outcome.None of the select band of England players who made their debuts in their 30s since 1945 had, for obvious reasons, much of an impact and five of them – Bill Nicholson, Steve Perryman, Kevin Richardson, Steve Guppy and Alan Thompson – made only one appearance. Or, if you like the old joke, they effectively "won two caps, their first and last on the same day".Richardson is an interesting case as he was one of three players who were brought out of the wilderness by Terry Venables during his first months in the job in 1994 as he tinkered with formations and personnel in the wake of Graham Taylor's failure to devise a coherent strategy. Barry Venison, enjoying something of an Indian summer at Newcastle, was another beneficiary and Arsenal's Steve Bould got a belated call to see if his club partnership with Tony Adams could transfer to international football. Both of them actually did win two caps before a younger generation in the form of Paul Ince, who was brought back into the fold, and Gareth Southgate, flourishing after finding his natural position in defence, put an end to the venture with venerable players.The Venables trio were all examples of a manager attempting to "steady the ship" after prolonged instability and atrocious results. Sven-Goran Eriksson did the same when he tried to address the team's "problem position" in his first few games in 2001 and installed Charlton's Chris Powell in the No3 shirt. "They said the re weren't any English left-backs," said the Swede with the charming insouciance that characterised his long honeymoon period, "but I have found one." Sadly for Powell he soon found a better one in Ashley Cole.Ron Greenwood went even further in a quest for cohesion for his first game as England's caretaker in 1977 by selecting seven of the Liverpool side who had defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach to win the European Cup four months earlier. Enzo Bearzot had regularly packed his Italy team with Juventus players and Greenwood took his template and applied it to the extreme, even restoring Ian Callaghan at the age of 35 more than 11 years after his last cap. He quickly found that such shortcuts were not the answer and looked elsewhere for a solution that was never really forthcoming.If Davies does feature next week he will become the oldest debutant since Arsenal's Leslie Compton, brother of Denis, made his bow at the age of 38 in 1950. Back then the FA's international selection committee still picked the team and some players made the XI on emotional grounds as a way of paying tribute to diligent service. The Bolton captain, however, is not a sentimental choice but he does fall into another category that has found favour with the England manager over the years, the workhorse, facilitating forward with a less than prolific goalscoring record.When Capello won Serie A with Roma in 2001, Marco Delvecchio frequently made the starting line-up in preference to the far more elegant Vincenzo Montella. Tireless running, unselfishness and a combative approach to defending from the front did the groundwork that enabled Gabriel Batistuta, Francesco Totti or "The Little Aeroplane" Montella to exploit exhausted defences, the latter often from the bench. Heskey fulfilled exactly that function for Capello during England's best displays before the World Cup and Davies presumably has been earmarked to play this role should the Italian deem it necessary.To Davies's many detractors with an eye on the number of fouls he concedes, he is little more than a battering ram and a marginally more sophisticated Carsten Jancker. But he has attributes other than the raw-boned aggression of the stereotype, notably good vision and touch, the knack of threading short, subtle passes between defenders and masterly running off the ball that creates the space for his team-mates to score. His international career – if it starts at all – will not last very long but those of us the wrong side of 40 whose hearts feel sick when someone 10 years younger is described as a "veteran" will hope Davies's tenacity serves England as well as it has served himself.EnglandRob Bagchiguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Liverpool board agree to sell club to owners of Boston Red Sox subject to approval Any deal is subject to protracted legal battle after owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett move to sack chairman and his board. telegraph.co.uk |
Lippi 'ideal' for QPR, says Briatore • Rangers former chairman wants Italian at Loftus Road• 'I have a dream. That is to have Marcello Lippi as our coach'The QPR co-owner Flavio Briatore has revealed his "dream" to have the former Italy coach Marcello Lippi in charge of the club if they reach the Premier League.Rangers are currently top of the Championship under Neil Warnock, having sacked six managers while Briatore was chairman.But, although he stood down from the position in February, it seems Briatore still wants a say in football matters at Loftus Road.Briatore told the Italian magazine Chi: "Bernie Ecclestone and I have a 70% stake in QPR, and we are top of the table. If we go into the Premier League, I have a dream. That is to have Marcello Lippi as our coach."Rangers were quick to distance themselves from Briatore's comments this morning.A club statement read: "Following speculation in today's press, we would like to confirm that stories linking Marcello Lippi with Queens Park Rangers Football Club are completely unfounded."The Board of Directors - including Bernie Ecclestone, Amit Bhatia and Flavio Briatore - are 100% behind Neil Warnock and will continue to be so in the future."QPRFlavio Briatoreguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Napoli v Liverpool: match preview Read a full match preview of the Europa League game between Naples and Liverpool at the San Paolo Stadium, Naples, Italy on Thursday Oct 21, kick off 18:00 BST. telegraph.co.uk |
Paul Gascoigne Arrested In Drugs Swoop LONDON (Reuters) - Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne spent the night in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of drugs offences, police sources said Friday. feeds.nytimes.com |