England Players Behind Fabio Capello, Says John Terry

John Terry today denied reports of friction within the England camp following their poor performances that leaves them needing a win against Slovenia on Wednesday to guarantee progression to the last 16. The defender added that the inclusion of Joe Cole could be the catalyst England need to spark their World Cup campaign.

But the England squad is set for a clear-the-air meeting tonight, with the squad set to review the dire 0-0 draw with Algeria on Friday.

"We have a meeting tonight to watch the game and see where we went wrong. As a group of players we owe it to the people back home. If we upset the manger then so be it. If people need to get things off their chest they should do," said Terry.

"If we feel that things need to be changed then everyone needs to voice their opinion. If that upsets him or any player then so what?"

The draw against Algeria followed the opening 1-1 result against USA to leave them with just two points and third in Group C, sparking reports of a rift between the senior players and Capello.

"On behalf of the players there's no unrest in the camp at all. We're obviously still disappointed from the game the other night, but we have to pick ourselves up and we have to win the game on Wednesday," said Terry.

"We're all behind the manager, we shouldn't be looking at excuses or criticising the manger. All we can do as a group of players is stick behind him. We're here, we're supporting and we are fully behind him. We know we've got his support as well and that's the main thing.

"I'm not going to sit here and question manger. All I can say is I'm here on behalf of the team and players and we're all fully behind the manager. Since the manager has come in he's had his ways and his philosophies that he's brought to the side.

"That's worked in the campaign and nothing should change from that. We've got to stay unified and stay together and get the win."

Asked if he believed Joe Cole could liven up team, Terry responded: "I think so, we've seen that with Chelsea. I personally think he and Wayne [Rooney] are the only two in the side who can really open up things and are key to breaking down defences. If he's called on Joe will do a great job."

Terry added that all the England players shared the frustration exhibited by Rooney, who drew criticism for his comments to a TV camera after the Algeria game, criticising England's travelling supporters for booing.

"Like everyone [Rooney] was frustrated with the way we played. We’re still upbeat, we've still got to go into the last game trying to top the group.

"We've go to go out there and think sod it, we've got one game left and we owe it to our fans to play well.

"Once we're out there it is up to us as a group of players to do what the manager wants us to. I'm sure for the game on Wednesday everyone will have that fire in their belly."

Terry said there was no fear in the England camp but admitted that failure to reach the second round was "unacceptable". "But until that minute comes I'm going to keep myself upbeat and keep the lads spirits up," said Terry. "I've certainly not enjoyed [the World Cup] so far but we do need to start enjoying it. Even in training the lads have been uptight. But we need our big players to stand up.

"I'm asking the fans to get behind us again because we've got the best fans in the world. If we go out then they have every right to have a go at us but its not going to come to that."

Terry was stripped of the England captaincy earlier before the World Cup by Capello following a sex scandal but the defender said it had not altered his approach in the dressing room.

"Since I've lost the armband nothing has changed for me," he said. "I was born to do stuff like that and I will continue to do that in the dressing room and on the training field. No one will take that away from me."

Frank Lampard Believes England Will Thrive Now The Pressure Is On Against Slovenia

Frank Lampard insists England’s quality will show through when faced with a do or die match against Slovenia on Wednesday.

The Three Lions require a win over the Group C leaders to ensure their place in the knockout stages of the 2010 World Cup, and avoid a disastrous showing in South Africa.

Lampard believes the pressure that will be placed on Fabio Capello’s squad will help England respond after disappointing draws against the United States and Algeria.

“We are disappointed about the way things have gone, but I wouldn’t call this a low point because we can still go through,” Lampard told The Mirror.

“You have to remember this is the World Cup and nothing is going to be easy.

“It’s all down to the game against Slovenia now and I think if you had told us beforehand that a win against them would put us through we’d have taken it.

“We’ve had some pretty big one-off games in the past and we’ve always responded to the challenge. We will do just that on Wednesday.”

A draw will be sufficient for Slovenia to make the round of 16 for the first time in the country’s short World Cup history, and would leave England at the mercy of Algeria who take on the USA at the same time.

Silva Tempted By Chelsea

David Silva admits the Premier League is 'the place to be' and has opened the door for a move to Chelsea.

The Valencia winger is currently away on World Cup duty, with Spain's quest for global glory dominating his thoughts at present.

He has, however, taken time out to discuss his future, with reports continuing to suggest that he is destined to leave Los Che this summer.

A switch to England has been widely touted, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all believed to be keen.

Silva has now revealed that he would be willing to make such a move, but has implied that he would rather try his luck in West London than the North West.

He said, in comments reported by the Daily Star: "Chelsea have established themselves as one of the best clubs in Europe over the last five years.

"They might not have the history of Real Madrid or AC Milan but they are creating their own history now. There is no reason why in the future Chelsea can't be as decorated as Real Madrid.

"Chelsea probably have, along with Barcelona, the best squad in football and if any player joins Chelsea he knows he is going to win things.

"In players like John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba they have players who would get into any team in the world and it would be a pleasure to play with them.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Chelsea would be a great club to play for - and a club where I could fulfil my ambition of league titles and the European Cup.

"The Premier League is still the place to be, no other league in the world has six or seven Champions League quality teams."

Real Madrid Boss Mourinho Set To Battle Chelsea For Schweinsteiger

Real Madrid Manager Jose Mourinho is set battle his old club Chelsea for the signing of the 30-million-euro rated Bastian Schweinsteiger.

According to the Spanish AS newspaper, Mourinho has put the 25-year-old German international on a shortlist of midfielders he wants to sign, along with Liverpool's Steven Gerrard , Roma's Daniele De Rossi and Athletic Bilbao 's Javi Martínez.

A fortnight ago, it was reported that Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti had already lined up Schweinsteiger as a replacement for Michael Ballack and was willing to make a £25-million bid to secure his signature.

Schweinsteiger was instrumental in Bayern Munich capturing the domestic double and reaching the Champions League final last season.

His three-million-euro-a-season contract at Bayern runs until 2012.

Nicolas Anelka To Retire From International Football

French striker Nicolas Anelka has announced his retirement from international football after being sent home from the World Cup, according to Sky Sports News.

Chelsea forward Anelka was dumped by France on Saturday after an apparent dressing room bust-up with manager Raymond Domenech during their 2-0 defeat against Mexico on Thursday.

Reports suggested that Anelka had reacted angrily to Domenech’s questioning of his first half performance and that led to him being taken off at the interval. It had been reported that Anelka told his manager to "go f*** yourself".

Anelka was also absent from training on Saturday which fuelled rumours that his World Cup was over and that was later confirmed by the French Football Federation (FFF)

But now it seems Anelka has stepped away from the national side for good.

It further compounds a disastrous few days for France, who seem destined to be knocked out of the World Cup and need a win against South Africa in their final game to stand any chance of progressing.

Michael Ballack Set For Talks With Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen will do "all we can" to bring Michael Ballack back to the club eight years after his first spell in North-Rhein Westphalia ended following the most successful season in the club's history.

Ballack becomes a free agent at the end of the month when his contract with Chelsea expires and several clubs from the Bundesliga have been linked with him.

But Leverkusen have been keen to make their interest known, with sporting director Rudi Völler declaring the club's interest on Friday.

"We know that he has two definite offers and we are now ready to start negotiations," said their general manager Wolfgang Holzhauser.

"We will do all we can to bring Ballack back. We are in close contact with him and his agent."

Nevertheless, Holzhauser knows his club cannot compete with the wages rivals Wolfsburg or even Hamburg could offer and is therefore hoping Ballack will follow his heart to return to the club he represented from 1999 to 2002 before joining Bayern Munich. He finished runner up in the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League in a memorable final year with Leverkusen.

"If he does come to us, then he is going to have to make sacrifices," added Holzhauser. "We cannot compete with what the others are offering."

England Could Use Joe Cole's Sleight Of Foot

Joe Cole launched himself at this England squad only to vanish into its inky depths. Fabio Capello has had no use for him in either of the games with which the World Cup program has creaked open. This is all the more peculiar since the manager spoke initially as if he had located a rare commodity when referring to the freshness of a player often kept out of Chelsea's starting line-up by injury or Florent Malouda.

Some suppose Cole is being punished for alleged conceit when he talked merrily of what he might add to the team, but he was really presenting himself as a person desperate to meet Capello's every criterion, even if that entailed defending. It would be perverse of the manager to see arrogance when the 28-year-old was aiming for obedience.

Given the generally one-paced look of the oldest squad England have taken to a World Cup, the Italian may really have been eager to employ whatever direct runners there are, and in the goalless draw with Algeria Aaron Lennon started and then gave way to Shaun Wright-Phillips. Regardless of the acceleration, there was no quick thinking.

A one-paced Cole, on the other hand, is compelled to count on deftness and Wayne Rooney deems him the current England player with the best technique. There is an irony in the midfielder's decision to postpone an announcement about the club he will join as a free agent so that nothing detracts from the World Cup campaign. To date, he might as well have been exploring the fine detail of competing offers.

Cole is not always a luminous creator and Chelsea ruled out meeting the cost of the contract that might have kept him at Stamford Bridge. There is a suspicion that he is no more than decorative. Before Euro 2004, Sven-Goran Eriksson gave him 45 minutes in a warm-up friendly with Japan but did not let him on to the field in the finals.

Even so, the same manager relished the devastation Cole is capable of when he scored with a wonderful 30-yarder against Sweden at the 2006 World Cup and laid on Steven Gerrard's goal in the 2-2 draw. He got Capello's full attention in a first England appearance since September 2008 when he was a brisk substitute in the friendly with Japan. Suddenly Cole was more than just a man whose prospects had been clouded ever since a cruciate ligament injury.

The player's task now is to demonstrate that he is part of the remedy for England's sluggishness. The side must defeat Slovenia to ensure a spot in the last 16, but the resolve of Matjaz Kek's team is recognised and other aspects were on show as they followed a win over Algeria with a 2-2 draw against the United States.

England dare not be as passive as they have looked thus far. The form of specific key footballers is a worry to Capello. His commitment to Lennon has been all the more marked since he ditched Theo Walcott, but the Tottenham winger's crosses continue to be aimless. Other issues are in the balance and Steven Gerrard, having been so invigorated by his opener against the United States, made barely any impression on Algeria.

Rooney is the key figure, but he had a wretched evening in Cape Town. Defending against him was elementary when his touch and technique proved so inexplicably defective.

It was the type of outing that made people ponder the fact that the striker's last goal for his country at a major tournament was against Croatia at Euro 2004. That may be rectified soon, but it is also feasible that exasperation will undermine him against Slovenia and that the link with Emile Heskey, so valuable in the qualifiers, is not functioning for the time being.

England will be in jeopardy if they do not display subtlety soon. While Capello is not a man for second thoughts, his side are badly in need of variety and sleight of foot. At some stage, Cole's degree of impact may be critical to the team's hopes at this World Cup.

Summary Of A Season: Florent Malouda

Florent Malouda continued to go from strength to strength in 2009/10, building on his solid finish to the previous campaign.

The Frenchman made Carlo Ancelotti's early selections and by the end had cemented his place in the starting line up. He was instrumental in a number of historic wins and netted 15 goals throughout an industrious campaign.

That was an important measurement of his abilities but just as vital were the assists. Malouda helped set up 12 of Chelsea's League goals, including his cross which Joe Cole back-heeled over the line against Manchester United as we beat them 2-1 at Old Trafford.

It was also Malouda corner that John Terry nodded on for Didier Drogba to strike past Manuel Almunia when we hosted Arsenal at the Bridge, opening the scoring only seven minutes in.

When it came to scoring himself, Malouda netted six goals more in all competitions compared to the previous campaign although his disciplinary record did slip slightly during 2009/10.

He saw red, following two yellow cards against Birmingham on Boxing Day, as well as another six yellows.

He had only found the net four times before that dismissal but would score another 11 before the season ended, including two against Portsmouth and two against Villa in our 5-0 and 7-1 wins respectively.

In fact Malouda began scoring regularly the first game following his red card when we hosted Watford for a 5-0 thumping. The next game was the nine-goal thriller against Sunderland in which he netted our second.

It was one of his most incredible goals in a Chelsea shirt after winning the ball inside the centre circle and then dancing past two opponents before accurately finding the bottom corner with his right foot.

He was a versatile member of the team, playing as a midfielder rather than a wide man in a 4-3-3 towards the season's end and he even moved back into the left-back position away against Inter Milan when both Ashley Cole and Yury Zhirkov were unavailable. It was the first time he performed those duties in a Chelsea shirt although he had done so for Lyon and once for France, and proved capable in the role against the forward runs of Maicon.

Ending his League campaign against Wigan, although he failed to find the net during our 8-0 win he did assist in Nicolas Anelka's vital opener after chesting down for his fellow Frenchman to strike with only six minutes played.

He ended the season with a second successive FA Cup winners' medal after a tight 1-0 win over Portsmouth at Wembley in which he expertly spotted Ashley Cole's run down the left flank, a move which ended with Salmon Kalou's big miss.

It will be a tough task for Malouda to build again on such a successful campaign next year following World Cup action but at 30-years-old and in the form of his life, to do so should be well within the spritely winger's reach.