Terry Butcher England question

"It's not about how you start, it's about how you finish"

So replied Terry Butcher, World Cup semi-finalist at Italia '90, to a question posed to him by Red and White Bill after Saturday night's draw against America. But following tonight's horror show against Algeria, England will have to start with a bang against Slovenia on Wednesday if they aren't to leave South Africa horribly early.



The question session was organised by our friends at Coral Dugout, and other answers from Butcher can be viewed here. But the England players seemed shadows of their club selves, and failed to come out and prove the critics wrong, as my question and Butcher's answer had hoped and expected.

Trust Fabio? Unless England can turn it around on Wednesday, Capello will be remembered as a Postman Pat, rather than a managerial great.

The Ultimate England Saints XI

The World Cup is here at last, and what better way to while away the time between matches than by engaging in pointless speculation as to which former Saints players would make the current England XI (more than previously thought given the result on Saturday).

To that end, I have compiled what I consider to be the ultimate England Saints XI. The only condition for selection was that the players won their England caps while playing for Saints – and 27 players qualified under that criterion (hat-tip to Nick Illingsworth’s Saints Preserved for help with research). But there was only room for eleven, and while some players were instant choices, it was hard to fit others into a workable system – particularly up front, where the wealth of exciting attacking players Saints have been blessed with over the years gives the side a hugely offensive flavour.

Having said that, the centre-half pairing of Mark Wright and Dave Watson in front of Peter Shilton means the side has a solid core, with Steve Williams holding in midfield. Heaven knows he will have his work cut out with Le Tiss, Keegan and Paine alongside him.

The Ultimate England Saints XI

GK: Peter Shilton (49 caps won while at Saints)

The most-capped England player only had Tim Flowers for competition in goal. ‘Shilts’ is currently flogging a truly dreadful World Cup single – welcome to your future, David James (Robert Green will struggle to sell anything after Saturday).

RB: CB Fry (1 cap)

Something of a sporting and political legend around the turn of the century, Fry won his only England cap in 1901, although he also represented the country at cricket. Later rose to notoriety for different reasons through his friendship with Adolf Hitler.

CB: Mark Wright (16 caps)

Rock-solid central defender won his caps between 1984 and ‘87, and is one of eight players to have played for Saints and captained England.

CB: Dave Watson (18 caps)

Completing a strong-looking centre-half pairing, Watson also captained England.

LB: Wayne Bridge (12 caps)

An automatic choice at left back, ‘Bridgey’ appeared in the 2002 World Cup match against Argentina while at Saints, before his career was prematurely ended by the actions of his philanderer captain.

RM: Terry Paine (19 caps)

Saints legend Paine played an important role in England’s successful 1966 campaign, though the narrow ‘wingless wonders’ formation used in the final meant Alan Ball and Martin Peters were preferred against Germany. I envisage Paine hugging the touchline, providing service for the front two.

CM: Steve Williams (6 caps)

Lining up alongside three flair players, the onus will be on Williams, a Saints legend during the eighties, to sit and hold in midfield while they go wondering.

LM: Kevin Keegan (9 caps)

Keegan was the hardest player to fit into this side, but his was a necessary inclusion after joining Saints at such a high-level moment in his career. Mostly due to the greater demands on places from other players I have stuck him on the left, albeit in a roaming role ala Steven Gerrard. He would be given free rein to cut in and create, opening up the overlap for Bridgey.

AM: Matt Le Tissier (8 caps)

I am one England manager who will not overlook the brilliance of Le Tiss. As Alan Ball did at Saints in 1995-96, I would build my England side around ‘Le God,’ sticking him in the hole and ordering others to pass it to him.

ST: Mick Channon (45 caps)

Making up the trilogy of all-time Saints heroes in this England side (alongside Paine and Le Tiss), the first user of the iconic ‘Windmill’ celebration would occupy an orthodox target-man role, feeding off Paine’s service.

ST: Alan Shearer (3 caps)

As an England legend, Shearer has to go in (although his skills as a pundit leave a lot to be desired). The ‘best finisher I have ever seen’ according to my flatmate.

As for the manager, who else but Sir Alf Ramsey, who was capped for England while playing for Saints in 1948? And for those of you disheartened by England’s performance on Saturday, just remember this: England drew the first game of their successful campaign under Ramsey in 1966. It's not over just yet...

The 125 year anniversary kit has landed

"A kit from yesterday for the team of tomorrow"

So runs the tagline accompanying the launch of the new Saints shirt, which, after weeks of speculation, was revealed today on the Saints website. As predicted by some, the design of the shirt marks a significant break with the red and white stripes that have adorned Saints players for years - the white design with red diagonal stripe harks back to the kit sported by the St Marys Mens Team 125 years ago.

The R&W Bill verdict? Fan. While a year without our beloved red and white stripes may be too much for some fans to take, the design is a cracker. The lack of sponsor is a nice touch, and adds to the simple appeal of the kit. The big question, of course, is whether this kit can win a league title.

Shoutout to Coral Dugout

With just a week until the world cup, it is time for Red and White Bill's attention to turn to South Africa. I hope to compile an all-time England Saints XI in time for the tournament, but will also be shouting out to a few other websites that are helping fans through their coup de monde.

Online commercial initiatives surrounding the tournament are also two-a-penny, of course, but one service that has caught R&W Bill's eye has been ‘The Dugout,’ a service launched for the 2010 World Cup by bookmakers Coral. The speculators amongst you may be interested to know about the site, which will offer daily tips and offers to members from Soccer Saturday presenter Jeff Stelling and notorious referee Graham Poll.

The latter has been marketed as the man who ‘holds all the cards,’ and, though his last world cup will be remembered for the fact he held up one too many, the pair should ensure the site is the go-to place for those willing to risk a bob or two. They will be joined by an ‘insider,’ who will be offering inside information and advice to punters. Who knows, Rio might be a late contender for this job after writing off his tournament this morning.

We will hopefully be teaming up with the guys at Coral Dugout to bring you interviews with leading football figures throughout the tournament - a bit more exciting than the rumour mill that will inevitably be surrounding St Marys this summer. Who knows, it may even be our year: I’ve stuck a fiver on at 7-1, so let’s hope so…

More news...

Saints revealed their released and retained list last week, bringing the Saints careers of a few characters to an end.

The headlines are that Michail Antonio and Papa Waigo will be returning to their respective parent clubs, Reading and Fiorentina, after season-long loans, while there has been a clearout of fringe squad players such as Simon Gillett and Lloyd James.

Veteran defenders Chris Perry and Wayne Thomas will be not be competing in any sprint finals soon, but their commitment and steadfast loyalty to the Saints cause over the last few years means they will be remembered. And it seems the same can be said for Graeme Murty, who, despite just spending one injury-ravaged season here, appeared to be an important figure within the squad.

I expect he's looking forward to spending more time on the late kick-off sofa with Leroy Rosenior.

In other news, the club kicked off its 125 anniversary year by unveiling a special commemorative club crest. The design is hardly revolutionary, but gets the point across.

Pardew stays, Cortese goes off on one

My apologies again for neglecting this page recently, I am back on it again now after spending three hours writing about 1960s social history in an exam this morning.

Where to start but the blistering statement Cortese released last week? He keeps his cards close to his chest and doesn't speak often, but when he does, he doesn't half go for it.

In an end-of-season diatribe of almost polemic proportions, Cortese dismissed media reports that he was set to sack manager Alan Pardew after the Saints boss failed to guide the club to a top-six finish despite player investment in January.

Unsurprisingly, the Southern Daily Echo is the chief target for his ire, despite reports over Pardew's future being published in national newspapers; judging by this report in The Mail, you would have been forgiven for thinking Pardew had boxed up his desk stationary already.

Even Radio Solent - which, unlike the Echo, has a commercial agreement with the club - reported that Liebherr's absence from St Marys ten days ago was down to unhappiness at this season's progress. But Cortese has his sights firmly set on the Echo:

"As a local paper, I would have hoped that it would provide the local newspaper with news, rather than gossip."

He does not stop there, launching broadsides at Saints legends Matthew Le Tissier, Lawrie McMenemy and Kevin Keegan for daring to speak out in favour of Pards.

Of course, the bottom line is that Pardew is staying - that is something we should all be thankful for as managerial stability is what this club craves. And even if Cortese's public pressure on his manager appeared harsh in March, it certainly had an effect as the side went on an immense end of season run that almost ended in a play-off place.

But Cortese needs to realise that the media coverage surrounding English football will not go away - and, as he is learning, can grow out of control if left to swell unabated. Communication is an essential part of running any football club and that is the one area the Swiss needs to build on next season.

Cortese says he "will not respond to every piece of idle speculation." Nor should he. But although keeping completely tight-lipped may satisfy him in his feud with the Echo, by allowing these rumours to escalate, it is only the fans who suffer.

Pardew - I just hope we get the chance to build on this

Saints ended the season in style at St. Marys this afternoon, coming from behind to secure a comfortable win over already-condemned Southend. Post-match comments made by manager Alan Pardew, however, raised the prospect of an uncertain few weeks ahead for the club.

Saints 3 - 1 Southend

Despite the blistering run of form that followed their JPT success - which means Saints would have made the play-offs and been just three points from an automatic promotion place were it not for the points deduction - Chairman Nicola Cortese has maintained an ominous silence on his manager's future in recent weeks. Despite a season widely regarded as successful, Cortese is understood to be unhappy at the balance of results since over three million pounds was spent on the squad in January - and if that is not the case, he has not said anything to alter that impression.

Pardew's comments after the win effectively threw down the gauntlet to Cortese to come out and back him in public. He seems keen to stay at Saints despite reports of interest from a higher level, but his patience will surely be tested if he continues to have to work in an environment he may not feel is supportive. Today's win was certainly useful in demonstrating that only the points penalty stood between Saints and greater success this season.

The win was also important as it secured a couple of impressive goal landmarks for Saints players. After falling behind in the second half, a Rickie Lambert brace - taking his League tally to a colossal thirty for the season - won the game before a third was added by Adam Lallana minutes from time - his twentieth from midfield this season.