Savage backs Bellers
Craig Bellamy still wants to lead Wales when their Euro 2012 campaign kicks off next season.
And Derby star Robbie Savage has urged him not to throw in the towel like he did after falling out with national boss John Toshack.
Manchester City striker Bellamy has told friends he can’t understand why Wales boss Toshack seems so keen to push him out of international football.
Bellamy, 31 this year, was axed from Toshack’s squad for the Sweden match on Wednesday after saying he only wanted to play for a half to protect a niggling knee injury.
Backing Bellamy to tough it out, Savage said: “I was stupid. I should have made it hard for Tosh to leave me out. The Welsh public want to see Craig play.”
Wayne Bridge, England needs you: Fabio Capello refuses to give up on World Cup outcast
Fabio Capello is determined to talk Wayne Bridge out of international retirement and take him to the World Cup.
The England manager is refusing to take no for an answer after Bridge withdrew from his squad in the wake of the John Terry scandal that involved the Manchester City full back’s estranged partner, Vanessa Perroncel.
Capello plans to give Bridge more time to come to terms with the trauma of a controversy that led to Terry being stripped of the England captaincy before asking him to reconsider.
While the Italian was fairly happy with Leighton Baines against Egypt, he remains desperate to see Bridge and Ashley Cole as his left backs in South Africa.
Capello will maintain contact with Bridge, either directly or through members of his staff, in the hope that the player has a change of heart and decides he can deal with sharing a hotel with Terry for up to seven weeks.
Capello is still mindful of the fact that Cole may not return from a fractured ankle in time for the World Cup and wants to know he has Bridge as an alternative.
OTHER CITY BOLLOX
Ian Wright blasts Garry Cook after Manchester City baulk at wage demands of son
Ian Wright has launched a blistering attack on Manchester City, accusing the club of 'mugging off' his son Shaun Wright-Phillips and treating him like a youth-team player in talks over a new contract.
The two sides have reached deadlock in negotiations after City refused to meet Wright-Phillips' demands for parity with top earners like Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and even Wayne Bridge.
Respect is due: Shaun Wright-Phillips impressed for England against Egypt but he doesn't feel appreciated by Manchester City
The 28-year-old winger was signed from Chelsea in the summer of 2008 in a deal worth £80,000-a-week, just before billionaire Sheik Mansour's takeover raised the pay ceiling at the club. Even though the deal still has two years left to run, City's chief executive Garry Cook and football administrator Brian Marwood are prepared to offer Wright-Phillips an extension but will not agree to the terms or length of contract his advisers are demanding.
The club's stance brought a furious response from former England and Arsenal striker Wright, who fears the wrangle could damage his son's World Cup prospects despite his goalscoring appearance off the bench in the 3-1 win over Egypt.
Speaking on talkSPORT yesterday, Wright said: 'He wants to sign his deal and sign for the rest of his career so he can be settled and get ready to go to the World Cup. But there's these people like Brian Marwood and Garry Cook mugging him off, treating him like a youth-team player and not someone who actually wants to be there because of what he thinks Manchester City can do. He signed before all the money came.
'When you have people like Marwood and Cook, who for me are just a bit full of themselves, I'm not sure they know exactly what they are doing deep down, so I'm just a bit worried about that.'
Family matters: Former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright fears the wrangle could damage his son's World Cup prospects
Wright-Phillips took a pay cut to rejoin City from Chelsea and knows that this will be the last big contract of his career. He is concerned that so many players have since joined the club on better terms and wants a deal closer to those handed to team-mates Tevez, Adebayor and Kolo Toure, who all earn in excess of £100,000-a-week.
Sources close to Wright-Phillips claim he does not feel appreciated, but City are reluctant to give a significant pay rise to a player who will be 30 when his current deal expires.
A dip in form this season has not helped his cause and Wright fears his son's desperation to help City finish in the top four and cement a place in Fabio Capello's squad is actually harming his chances of going to South Africa this summer.
Wright-Phillips put England ahead in the 75th-minute against Egypt and then set up the third goal for Peter Crouch. But Wright said: 'He's playing when he's injured and I'm trying to make him realise how important it is this year. If he misses out on this World Cup, then it might not happen again.
'But he says, "Dad, what do you want me to do? If they want me to play, I've got to play". I say, "You're going to play when you're half injured? You're not doing anyone any good". He's played and then they've left him out.
'He's lost form and so I'm thinking to myself that he's not going to make the England team, not even make the bench. Then for him to come on and do what he did and be really positive like we've told him to be, I felt like I was going to cry last night.
'It's been a really hard couple of months with Shaun with what's going on at City. I'd love him to be settled so he could just concentrate on getting them into the top four. That's what he wants to do and then, God willing, he can end up getting on the plane and going to the World Cup, doing well for England and everything would be great.
'That's what I would like to happen. But you know how football is. It's different from one week to the next.'
Wright-Phillips replaced Theo Walcott on England's right flank in the second half at Wembley, and Wright claimed that the Arsenal youngster's stop-start development and injury problems have affected his confidence.
'I feel sorry for Theo,' he said. 'When you watched him yesterday it looked like he hasn't learned much about anything in respect of movement off the defender, receiving the ball and going past people. He just seems to like to get the ball and hammer at people without any thought.
'The injuries and being in and out is not helping him. There's a lot of pressure on Theo and he looked like somebody who had been thrust into something and he hasn't really got the confidence to play it out.'
MCF.NET THREAD: http://www.mancityfans.net/mcfnet/viewt ... 19&t=30892
TRANSFER BOLLOX
Joe Cole could leave Chelsea in the summer after negotiations stalled on a new contract with the 28-year-old demanding in excess of £100,000 a week. Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool are interested in taking the England midfielder on a free transfer. Daily Mail
Juventus are targeting Arsenal striker Robin van Persie in exchange for Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo. The Turin club are open to a deal, but would be looking to land either Van Persie, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna as part of the transfer. Daily Mail
German playmaker Mesut Ozil, 21, has rejected a new deal at Werder Breman, clearing the way for a £15m move to Arsenal in the summer - although Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid are also interested. (Daily Star)
Meanwhile, Arsenal defender William Gallas, 32, is a free-transfer target for Italian side Roma. (Daily Mail)
Manchester United are lining up a £9m move for Croatia Under-21 star Milan Badelj. The Dinamo Zagreb playmaker has been labelled the new Luka Modric. Daily Mail
Palermo's 20-year-old centre back Simon Kjaer will snub approaches from Manchester United and Tottenham because he wants to play alongside fellow Dane Daniel Agger at Liverpool. Daily Mirror
Wigan are keen on Espanyol striker Jose Callejon, 23, and hope to strike a deal at the end of the season. (Daily Mail)
Sheffield Wednesday boss Alan Irvine has joined Swansea in the race to sign Rochdale's 19-year-old defender Craig Dawson. (Daily Mail)
HOOTER OF THE DAY - Alix Casey
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OTHER BOLLOX
Russia have approached Fabio Capello about becoming their new coach after the World Cup. The new head of Russia's Football Union, Sergei Fursenko, held informal talks with the England manager at Stamford Bridge last Saturday, over a deal which could more than double his net income. The Guardian
Chelsea officials have sent a specialist sports psychologist to France to help Ashley Cole overcome his broken anke and split from wife Cheryl Cole. Daily Mail
West Ham have withdrawn the offer of a new contract to midfielder Valon Behrami, with co-owner David Sullivan keen to cash in on the Switzerland international in the summer - much to boss Gianfranco Zola's despair. (The Telegraph)
Liverpool insist the club has had no contact with the Abu Dhabi royal family regarding a bid for the Anfield outfit. (Daily Star)
Wigan's French left-winger Charles N'Zogbia would play for England, if he was asked - the 23-year-old qualifies through residency having lived in England since 2004. (The Sun)
New QPR manager Neil Warnock has instructed his players to wear shinpads in training to step up the intensity of the sessions.
Daily Mirror
CROCKED AGAIN BOLLOX
Owen out for the season
Michael Owen’s dream of representing England in South Africa this summer appears over after he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson today confirmed the striker would miss the rest of the campaign after suffering the injury in the Carling Cup final victory over Aston Villa last Sunday.
Owen, who scored in the Wembley final, had admitted before the injury that he was a “long shot” to make Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad.
“It’s a bad blow — he’s out for the season,” Ferguson said. “Unfortunately it’s more serious than we thought. He will be operated on on Monday morning.
“It’s a terrible blow for the lad and is disappointing news for us too.
“He has never missed a training session all season.
“I think the heavy pitch at Wembley on Sunday made some contribution to it but really it is just bad luck.”
