Newly appointed FA chairman Greg Dyke has been making a lot of waves since stepping into office and besides blaming the perils of the English game on a terrible grassroots system – with a quick swipe at the huddled masses thrown in for good measure – he also told England to forget winning the World Cup this summer. Steven Gerrard, obviously, doesn’t think his side are quite as bad as Mr. Dyke might think. “I don’t think we’re as weak as has been suggested,” said Gerrard ahead of the Three Lions clash with Moldova later today. With qualification matches on-going, England have yet to secure a place in next summer’s tournament and though the Captain doesn’t want to start planning any parades, he also thinks writing off their chances of impressing in South America is premature. “We want to qualify for the World Cup, go there and make the nation proud. We can do that without winning it.”
The 33-year old midfielder is expected to partner Chelsea stalwart Frank Lampard in the engine room of the Three Lions squad when they face Moldova later today. With three matches coming up after that – including a tricky trip to the Ukraine on Tuesday – Gerrard has tempered the usually high expectations with a much needed dose of realism. “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. Our priority is to get there first. To qualify is the challenge” said the skipper ahead of the match at Wembley tonight. Although the News Desk isn’t all that concerned if England even make it to the big dance, it would be nice to see Gerrard knock Dyke down a peg or two. Obviously, we like our Captain Fantastic a bit more than the rotten Football Association…
