Has Jamie Carragher let his country down by deciding to end his England career just because he wasn’t being picked?

The Liverpool central defender is fed up with being passed over when either of the first-choice pairing of Rio Ferdinand and John Terry is unavailable. The 29-year-old lost out to Ledley King last month against Estonia and Jonathan Woodgate in a February friendly against Spain.

He has now decided not to make himself available for England, unless there is an “absolute emergency”.

The Merseysider vented his anger in a radio phone-in when it was suggested he was “a bottler” in the face of competition and he strongly denied acting like a “big-time Charlie”.

A poll at The Guardian found 89 percent saying he should be allowed to retire from international football while a thoughtful piece at Have You Ever Been to Liverpool? is broadly supportive, while wondering if he may come to regret the decision. 

Other players have called time on their England careers, notably Paul Scholes, who seems to have had a new lease of life since devoting himself solely to Manchester United since 2004.

But there is an important difference. Scholes left, in part, because he was being played out of position on the left flank, and his performances suffered as a result. Carragher simply isn’t getting into the team.

Yet Carra’s presence in the squad has given England managers past and present a tactical comfort zone, knowing that he can come in and play at left back, right back or centre half.

He clearly doesn’t feel appreciated and, naturally, no-one likes the feel of the cold shoulder. But does that mean he should deny coach Steve McClaren that comfort zone just as England face a real battle to qualify for Euro 2008?

Trevor Huggins, London

Whatever his popularity with Manchester City fans, the sight of Sven-Goran Eriksson being driven into their Carrington training ground on Wednesday will have warmed the cockles of many journalists’ hearts.

The Swede has been good for business in the newspaper trade ever since the Football Association made the historic decision in late 2000 to appoint him as England’s first foreign coach.

His affairs with Swedish celebrity Ulrika Jonsson and former FA secretary Faria Alam kept the printing presses busy, as did pictures of a meeting with Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon and the ‘Fake Sheikh’ newspaper sting which ultimately cost him his England job.

Reporters got used to him and accustomed to some of his trademark forms of speech. Beginning answers with a very long “Welllllllllllllllllllllllllll” is one, and the occasional odd pronunciation for such a fluent English speaker, like ‘young’ becoming ‘jung’.

Deep down, Eriksson might feel he has a point to prove in English football. He was blamed for failing to get England past the quarter-finals in three tournaments, though it’s debatable whether his team had the ability and the self-belief to do any better.

Eriksson deserves a chance to convince the City fans. Will he get the same from the British media?

Trevor Huggins, London

Thierry Henrys 24 million-euro move to Barcelona has left Arsenal with plenty of money but not many players to spend it on.

The Gunners need a 25-goals-a-season striker who can exploit the entertaining passing football which regularly gets them to their opponents penalty area — and no further.

The problem is a shortage of top-quality strikers up for grabs.

Barca have made it clear they want to keep Samuel Etoo, Juventus have re-signed David Trezeguet on a new contract, Real Madrid are very unlikely to part with former Manchester United hitman Ruud van Nistelrooy and Bayern Munich have just snapped up World Cup top scorer Miroslav Klose.

Frederic Kanoute wants to stay in Seville for another two years, while West Hams Carlos Tevez, who would not be a straight replacement anyway, is more likely to end up in Spain or Italy than stay in the Premier League.

Roma fans would sell the Coliseum before parting with their captain and Europes leading league scorer for 2006-07, Francesco Totti. In any case, Totti would not have won any friends by saying last season: I don’t like English football and I don’t like England either because of the weather.

Arsenal have been linked with two players, their former French striker Nicolas Anelka, who made a lucrative but unpopular move to Real Madrid in 1999, and Newcastle Uniteds injury-prone Michael Owen.

Anelka, currently at Bolton Wanderers, would not be welcomed back by all of the fans, while Owen has only managed 14 games for Newcastle over the last two years.

Two other options are Atletico Madrids Fernando Torres and Valencias David Villa. However, Torres has had a modest record over the last season or two and would still cost an extravagant amount of money, as would Villa.

Spain has also been a mixed hunting ground for Arsenal. Midfielder Cesc Fabregas has been a spectacular success, but Jose Antonio Reyes has been a flop and was packed off to Real Madrid last season on loan.

Is Owen the best bet of the bunch? Or does Arsene Wenger have his eye on a surprise package?

Trevor Huggins, London

Thierry Henrys impending move to Barcelona robs Arsenal of their captain, record goalscorer and talismanic striker of the past eight years. Worse than that, it deprives them of a 29-year-old who, with a change in role, might have been their inspiration for another five years.

Like Henry, Roberto Baggio was once an astonishing striker and matchwinner, blessed with pace and ball skills in equal measure.

Partly due to injury, but also to age, Baggios role changed in his latter years as he moved back from the frontline into a playmaking behind one or two strikers.

He continued to be a great player. His basic talent was undimmed, the lack of blistering pace was less important and his experience brought the ability to read the game and provide defence-splitting passes.

One speciality was a lifted pass over the top of a static back four, struck with enough backspin to make the ball sit up, instead of run forward, on the first bounce. It meant a striker timing his run could dash through and shoot without bringing the ball under control. Try doing it at home, let alone in a packed San Siro.

That role, which Dennis Bergkamp occupied in his final seasons with Arsenal, would have been tailor-made for Henry. His dribbling and deftly-weighted passing already put him in the upper reaches of the assist charts.

He has already changed roles once before under Arsene Wenger, who turned him from a left winger into a centre forward. As a second striker, or even at the top of a central diamond, protected by a holding midfielder, Henry could have been a devastating player for Arsenal well into his 30s.

Now it is an option for Barca coach Frank Rijkaard, particularly if Ronaldinho were to make his exit, while the Gunners are left to face an uncertain future.

Henrys boots were the key to Arsenals success. Who can fill them now?

Trevor Huggins, London 

The prospect of former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson taking over at Manchester City looks set to divide the long-suffering Blues fans.

Eriksson has been linked in media reports with the takeover plans of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, less than a year after stepping down as England coach.

Certainly, the Swede has no shortage of credentials. His club career with the likes of Lazio and Benfica is one of league title and cup success, while his knowledge of life inside the pressure cooker of English football is pretty sound.

The problem is a lack of popularity among a big chunk of English football fans. Quarter-final exits at two World Cups and Euro 2004 are hardly calamitous, but they fell well short of the nation’s hopes for their much-hyped players. His private life also kept tabloid newspapers busy.

However, City need to replace Stuart Pearce and time is beginning to run short. The early response from City fans, according to their webchats on Wednesday, is that the Swede can expect a three-way split between those behind him, those against and a fair slice of the fan base who are willing to give him a chance, and a clean slate.

The Manchester City Supporters’ Trust confirm today that, according to what they’ve heard, both Juande Ramos and Co Adriaanse would be more popular choices. Yet given his standing in the world game, isn’t Eriksson entitled to more than just muted support?

Trevor Huggins, London

David Bentley’s decision to pull out of England’s Under-21 squad has given a fresh twist to the ever-simmering club v country row.

England Under-21 manager Pearce told Sky Sports News that Bentley, 22, had informed him he was fatigued after a busy year with Blackburn Rovers and was worried about “possible burnout” next term.

Pearce tried to persuade Bentley of the honour of representing his country, of the tournament experience he’d gain, of the fact James Milner and Nigel Reo-Coker among others had also had tough seasons, and also of the regulations which prevent England from replacing him in the squad. All to no avail.
 
Clearly, the affair does not put Bentley in a particularly good light. But Blackburn are an ambitious club and the former Arsenal midfielder will be key to their cause next season, having recently been voted the club’s Player of the Year.

What’s more, a common refrain from the England senior camp, after bowing out of their latest tournament at the quarter-final stage, is that the Premier League is the most exhausting of the lot, and that it takes a long time to recover.

Ahmed Bilial at Soccerlens speculates that Bentley has his eyes on a place in the senior England squad for Euro 2008, and needs to be fully fit next term to push his claims. Other bloggers have shown less sympathy.

Should Bentley be criticised for his stand, for ignoring his country’s call, and, what’s more, missing the chance to make a name for himself on an international stage? Or is it just the logical consequence of a football system that has become dominated by club interests?

Trevor Huggins, London

England coach Steve McClaren isn’t jumping on the David Beckham bandwagon with quite the enthusiasm of most other people, even if his comments after Wednesdays 3-0 win over Estonia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers were complimentary.

McClaren had axed Beckham from the England squad on taking over after the World Cup. Recalled last week against Brazil, where he set up Englands goal in a 1-1 draw, Beckham went one better against Estonia by creating two of the three strikes in a fine all-round performance.

What was intriguing in the press room at the A. Le Coq Arena was the way McClaren started his response to the obvious question about Beckhams contribution to the win.

You know it, I know it and you can see it. It seemed his first reflex was to distance the judgement from himself, and to portray his verdict as a reflection of what everyone else is thinking, although he duly went on to describe that contribution as immense.

However, he then said: David Beckham, the player, is a very very good player and deserves to be in our team.

Beckham the player. So is there a difference in McClarens mind between Beckham, the footballer, and perhaps Beckham the sport/fashion icon and VIP who dominates the England media spotlight?

McClaren was also surprisingly shy about saying anything about Beckhams future prospects with England, which have to factor in his move to a new career in California with LA Galaxy.

Its not a question for tonight. Theres still a long time between now and August when we play the first friendly of the season, he said of the game with Germany at Wembley.

Beckham has talked about playing for England for “many, many years”. Let’s see if McClaren shares that view.

Trevor Huggins, Tallinn

Will David Beckham run to the touchline and hug a euphoric England manager tonight if the man who Steve McClaren summarily axed last August scores a vital goal?

After all, the embrace is a common enough scene in big games these days. And although Estonia are only ranked 110th in the world, ahead of Syria but just behind Hong Kong, this is very definitely a big game for England.

Languishing down in fourth place in Group E, and with McClaren’s stewardship of the team being a recurrent topic of media debate, there is plenty at stake for both coach and country.

Victory for England, and a win for Croatia over Russia on the same night, would leave the Croatians way ahead and probably uncatchable on 19 points.

England would then join the Russians on 14 points, while Israel should move second on 17 after playing one game more — against Andorra the same day.

It’s still far from ideal for an England side who have largely underperformed since McClaren replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson.

But it would be a whole lot better than their plight should they draw, let alone lose in Tallinn to a side who are bound to raise their game.

The match at the diminutive A. Le Coq Arena, with its 9,000-plus capacity, could therefore be a showcase for someone who is good at the set-pieces which so often decide tight games.

Enter Beckham, whose desire to score after being sidelined by McClaren for 11 months can only be imagined.

Hugs all round? We’ll see.

Trevor Huggins is in Tallinn to cover England’s game against Estonia

If AC Milan beat Liverpool in the Champions League final in Athens on May 23, will UEFA officials be smiling through gritted teeth when they hand over the trophy? Or has Milan’s sparkling form over the course of the competition been enough to grant them redemption?

UEFA made it absolutely clear last August they did not want Milan to play even in the 
qualifiers — let alone get all the way to the final.

Milan’s original 44-point penalty, handed out by an Italian sports tribunal in July 2006 following a match-fixing trial involving several Serie A clubs, cast them hopelessly adrift of
the qualifying positions for Europe. On appeal, the deduction was reduced to eight points and Milan looked set for the qualifiers. However, UEFA were very unhappy about the prospect of a club tainted with scandal taking part in their most prestigious competition.
 
To their dismay, UEFA realised they lacked the legal basis to refuse Milan entry. To say they admitted Carlo Ancelotti’s men reluctantly is an understatement.

The six-time champions were in, but their entry was “far from being given with the utmost conviction”, it said, adding that Milan had taken “advantage of the fact that UEFA lacks legal grounds to refuse the club’s admission.” The Emergency Panel was “deeply concerned that AC Milan has created the impression of being involved in the improper influencing of the regular course of matches in the Italian football championship”. More stinging comments followed.

However, they have not stopped Milan from reaching the final, and playing some fantastic football along the way, notably in their Kaka-inspired semi-final triumph over Manchester United.

Who do you think UEFA will be supporting in the final?

Trevor Huggins is a Reuters sports reporter based in London

For the second time in three seasons, Liverpool’s passionate fans were worth a place in the Champions League final at Chelsea’s expense.

Coach Rafa Benitez, who described the Anfield crowd as Liverpool’s “12th man” and 40,000 “special ones” in a barbed reference to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, was quick to pay tribute to the ‘wall of noise’, as the supporters were described over at Red Cauldron today.

Led by the massed ranks of the Kop choir, the supporters had cheered and sung the whole night, though their biggest contribution came when it counted most — in the penalty shootout.

Boudewijn Zenden’s opening strike was greeted by the kind of celebratory roar usually reserved for a 25-metre screamer from Steven Gerrard into the top corner.

Within seconds, the sound effects switched to ear-splitting whistles and boos as Chelsea’s Arjen Robben stepped up for a spot-kick which keeper Jose Reina was able to save.

Xabi Alonso converted for Liverpool, as did Frank Lampard for Chelsea despite the boo-boys’ best efforts, and the Kop still hadn’t finished singing “Steve Gerrard, Gerrard” to the tune of “Que Sera, Sera” when the Liverpool skipper swept his penalty past Petr Cech.

Geremi, who Mourinho said afterwards converted a lot of spot-kicks in training, lost his touch at Anfield as he too failed to beat a brilliant Reina, setting up Dutchman Dirk Kuyt to score the winner for 4-1.

The moral of the story is that teams need to finish Liverpool off when they are away from their lion’s den. Or maybe UEFA should just give all visiting teams a one-goal start when they go to Liverpool.

Trevor Huggins is a Reuters sports reporter based in London