Name off the trophy?

So the time for all the talking to stop is here, and at this moment it's time for the Sidler to speak up once again.

Yes ladies and gentleman unsurprisingly the announcement of Fabio Capello's provisional 30 man squad for the upcoming World Cup has shot me right back into action. I mean it's not been that long has it? MARCH 1st?!?!? What the hell have I been doing?

I've no idea really but at least the football's been boring right?

Well with all the boring football it's a good job the World Cup is round the figurative corner and the countdown has now really kicked off with, not only Capello but, all the managers picking their provisional squads.

Perhaps the biggest news comes from Brazil where past World Cup winners Ronaldinho and Adriano are not included, though Dunga has gone straight to naming his 23 so any injuries could mean a last minute place for either of these two. The French have left out Premiership pair Samir Nasri and Patrick Vieira. Argentina have left out Esteban Cambiasso. Italy have left out Francesco Totti as he couldn't quite decide whether or not to come out of international retirement.

And talking of players coming out of retirement brings us right where we want to be, talking about England's squad.

Firstly there is the man who hasn't come out of retirement, Paul Scholes. I for one would have loved to see Scholes wearing an England shirt once again. The ginger maestro's retirement was probably one of the biggest tragedies of the Sven era. And with Gareth Barry's injury potentially keeping him out of the squad Capello's inability to get Scholes out of retirement may be one tragedy that keeps the World Cup trophy out of English hands. After all with no Barry it could be left to Tom Huddelstone to fill in the holding role in midfield and Huddelstone is an average player at best, even if his ability to hit a ball with power is second to very few if any.

Meanwhile Capello was able to get another player to come out of the international wilderness and unlike on his way out Jamie Carragher managed to not get himself on any sport's based radio stations on the way back into the big time. I am, probably unsurprisingly, not a fan of the Liverpool captain and yet I believe he will probably end up in the final 23 and it may well be one of the most astute picks by Fab. The reason is because of Carra's ability to play at either centre back or more importantly at right back.

Other talking points are in goal, despite the fact that there are no surprises. The three expected to go are the three that have gone but it is the fact that we don't yet know the order in which they are regarded and the fact that at least one if not two of them should perhaps not be there. Joe Hart is exempt from my criticism, he is an excellent goalkeeper in brilliant form and should be England's number one, the sad truth is he may end up being number 3. My main contention comes with the choice of David 'sideshow bob' James. James is simply not reliable enough a goalkeeper to be in the World Cup squad and he never has been. Sam Allardyce's opinion on why his 'keeper' is not going to the World Cup might be wide of the mark but you'd struggle to argue that he shouldn't be in the squad based on his previous experience and form this season.

Upfront the Premierleague's 3rd top goal scorer, Darren Bent, has managed to force his way into the 30 and yet with Capello likely to only take 4 strikers, along with Theo Walcott likely to be taken as a midfielder and cover for a striker, it means one of Bent and Heskey will not be going. And one can't help but think that despite his lack of goals, ever, Heskey will be on his way to South Africa.

But this all sounds far too negative from a man so upbeat on England's chances. So has the squad announcement on top of possible injuries to Terry and Barry and the news of Capello's now defunct ridiculous website dampened my spirit? HELL NO!

Now is the time, more than ever to believe and really get behind the men who will wear the three lions in just a few weeks. Forget my personal bias or club bias this is a squad capable of winning the world cup, heck any side with Messers Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Terry, Ferdinand and A Cole has a great chance.

Win or lose it's time to use the next few weeks to get ready for what will no doubt be a thrilling rollercoaster of a ride. After all only 24 hours after the announcement former captain John Terry looked like he might be ruled out with a broken metertarsal and that's after only 24 hours. It's going to be an exciting time. Can England win the World Cup? As the advert says, "Maybe! Just Maybe"!

Passing the Test of Time

C.S Lewis once said that “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” For the 'old men' of the Premier League apparently you start living them again once your old as well.

Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs are 34 and 35 respectively, in the young mans game that is Premier League football this is absolutely ancient. No doubt that the youngsters of today's game with all their trickery and pace have brushed passed these old veterans showing them how far football has come since their heyday of the mid to late 90's! Or not!

While players such as the Brazilian Anderson and the Portuguese, successor to Ronaldo, Nani have struggled this season, the godfathers of the current United team have really shown the way. On Saturday against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium, a tricky place to go, Scholes had pulled all the strings in the first half but the forwards had no luck in breaking the Stoke defence. Meanwhile prowling on the touchline was Giggs, one week on from his match winning performance in the derby game. Nani had been the picture of inconsistency, going from lovely runs to pointless step overs in an instance.

It has been difficult for the young Portuguese winger since joining United, and even more so now he seems to feel pressured into replacing the now departed Ronaldo. After 55 minutes of doing his best to replicate his countryman on came Giggs as Nani's replacement to prove it should be the timeless Welsh wonder he replicates. Within 7 minutes it was Stoke 0-1 United, and inevitably Giggs was the provider with his ball into Dimitar Berbatov to score.. Just 16 minutes after that and it was game over! Stoke 0-2 United, and again Giggs with the ball into the box, this time for John O'Shea to head home.

Two quotes jumped out after the game to truly tell the story.
"They (Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes) are both great players but Scholes was magnificent. He (Paul Scholes) was the best player on the pitch by a country mile. Then Giggs makes the two goals." That by Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager who you felt could have gone on about Scholes's contribution for hours.

The second came from Phil McNulty, who perhaps best described why Giggs is just so good and Nani is far from it.
"Let's hope Nani was taking a note of how Ryan Giggs set up Dimitar Berbatov for his goal. Football is essentially a simple game made complicated by players like Nani." Never has much a truer word been said.

How many times have the ginger maestro and his Welsh compatriot been retired by some critic or other. Scholes especially has had a hard time of it the last few years. Injuries have kept him out for long periods of time, worries were especially high a few seasons ago when he had double vision and dizziness for months people feared for his career. Back he came the season after, playing a massive role in getting United to the Champions League final with an awesome goal against Barcelona in the Semi final. Again last season people were questioning how much longer Scholesy could continue, overrun and losing possession more in some matches than he had in whole seasons previously. Now suddenly he has returned to his best once again. United have only lost once away all season, against Burnley, and who wasn't in central midfield to keep possession that day? Paul somebody or other!

Surrounded by a team that is growing in confidence and experience Scholes and Giggs do not need to supply the pace, there is plenty of that. Nor do they need to throw themselves round the pitch; though Scholes still does, rarely winning the ball of course, for that there is Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher. Instead Paul and Ryan can concentrate on winning games and in helping others take the limelight with goals they are instead stealing it themselves.

Down in Sunday League it is the opposite. When some players come back old and injured they cannot handle the pace. Delusions of grandeur are also commonplace in Sunday league, mix in the two problems and you have a player who is a waste of space. Even more annoyingly someone who argues their way into a team, and then is awful. Thankfully said person is now out of the team and has retired himself, he is no Scholes, no Giggs, he is barely worth typing about. After a two week break we sadly succumbed to a 5-1 loss against a weak side, manager and player errors a like caused it but we'll be back, unfortunately after yet another two week break.

Back to the good old duo! What is perhaps most telling about them is that Sir Alex still plays them both. He is not one for sentiment, when you're past it you're past it! And remembering the amount of times these two have been written off they mirror their boss, down and out for one minute, world beaters the next- they may not quite be his children but in footballing terms they may as well be! All this without a backflipped celebration in sight!