Some sad news for all Villa and England fans as Darren Bent has been uled out for the rest of the season and possibly the Euro’s after rupturing ankle ligaments. It is believed that Bent sustained the injuries during Villa’s barren draw with Wigan over the weekend.
Of course this is a big blow to England’s Euro hopes if Bent fails to recover in time and for stuart Pearce, this could not have come at a worse time as he prepares to lead his squad against the Netherlands in a friendly at Wembley tomorrow night.
Though a friendly, a lot will be riding on this match. This will be the first match since Capello’s sacking and the pundits will be eager to find out how prepared and how well England stacks ups to the best in the world.
I have to admit though, Pearce’s squad looks very promising. Pearce who is England’s coach on a caretaker basis has chosen to field a relatively young squad for the friendly with Ashley Cole and Steven Gerrard being two of the senior most players.
Meanwhile remaining with the England national team, Tottenham’s Scott Parker has been voted as the England fans player of the year 2011. This is a major boost to his profile as he has been largely tipped to replace John Terry as England skipper.
This is what he had to say after he was confirmed as the winner.
“It’s a great honour,” he said.
“Just looking at the names that are on the trophy it’s quite an achievement. It’s a proud moment for me, I’m delighted.
“When you feel the fans are appreciating what you’ve done, it’s extra special. It’s been a good year for me at international level so I’m delighted the fans have picked me.”
So who am i tipping to win tomorrow match? Well, my bet is on the Netherlands. They are more technical and should easily overcome England. However, the Three Lions have the home advantage so you can’t really rule them out.
My prediction, 2-2. I expect this to be a high scoring game.
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