England is synonymous with football. England may win the Cricket World Cup or the Rugby World Cup, yes the whole nation celebrates & gloats. But come football season cricket & rugby are forgotten, the streets & homes are littered with “football widows”.

With England’s disastrous exit from the Football World Cup last year, David Beckham, a globally-recognised brand sorry name, resigned as captain. But then with Ericsson’s exit as manager, the new coach Steve Maclaren dropped Beckham altogether. In general, most of the fans welcomed it but half of the pundits didn’t agree. Suffice to say after one good game, the new England squad’s performance was consistently poor. Is it because they’re missing Beckham? Is it because Maclaren is no better than the Swede? Personally, I think it’s down to lack of teamplay. There are too many good players but there’s no cooperation. They lack the hunger and therefore the aggresiveness needed to win.

Anyway, Beckham has been recalled and poor Maclaren is putting all his eggs in David’s basket. This piece of news has been speculated on for the last two weeks. Now that it’s confirmed, the papers have been carrying the same story but with different twists, I think since Monday!

With the rest of England’s footie mad population watching I can’t help but feel sorry for both player & manager. You’re hailed as a hero as long as you keep crossing that ball into the goal. But one mistake, or in David’s case before one red card, you’re vilified as the most hated figure in the country. Tough game huh?

In the meantime I need to find out whether the England vs Brazil friendly will be shown free-to-air or not, because it may also mean I’m single for a day.

photo source: soccersquared.com

Madeleine’s mum is in Rome to have a 5-minute audience with the Pope. I saw on the papers today that she’s never left her twins’ side since her eldest daughter went missing 26 days ago.

It is unbelievable how a family holiday can turn into your worst nightmare. Makes you realise that the world isn’t a safe place, sometimes not even your home.

The Portuguese police has cut down the number of staff working on Maddy’s case. Of course, everyone is saying there’s little chance of finding her alive. The British police are said to be exasperated with the way the case was handled overseas. There are a lot of frustrations. Maddy’s family & friends are doing their best to keep her case open & alive.

We, the public, can only hope that her family copes and that wherever Maddy is she’s not suffering. Please say a little prayer for Maddy, for her safety, and for her family’s strength & resolve.