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England have finally got a world class training facility In St George’s Park, and it can’t come quick enough for Roy Hodgson.

The England head coach knows that the next generation of England managers will have a facility that will mould players to be able to cope against the heavy hitters of world football, something which England have struggled with in the past.

“The place has blown me away. All the lads are buzzing to be here. We’re lucky to have facilities like this, the England head coach told the Metro.

“Now we have got the best stadium in the world and the best facilities.”

Proof that English football is lacking to some of its European counterparts was evident in the latest round of Champions League fixtures.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City were all in action in Europe’s elite competition, but only managed to field six outfield players of the 25 man squad that Roy Hodgson has put together.

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Where Hodgson could pick a decent five a side team from English players in Champions League action, the likes of Spain, France, Germany and Portugal could have picked strong starting XIs.

In contrast, Spanish manager Vicente Del Bosque had a field of 14 players to choose from, which also included two superstar subs, David Villa and Andres Iniesta.

Tony Pulis has slammed Liverpool striker Luis Suarez for committing what appeared to be a blatant dive against the Potters, in the 0-0 draw at Anfield yesterday.

The Stoke City boss has been regularly making the point that the FA should be clamping down on simulation, as similar scenarios occurred with both Ivanovic and Oscar when his side travelled to Stamford Bridge earlier this season.

Pulis was not shy to comment that he was baffled by the decision from the referee not to book Suarez.

“The FA should be looking at this. Give him three games (banned) and he will stop falling over,” he told Sky Sports.

The Stoke manager was however, happy to praise Glen Johnson for his reaction to a full blooded challenge from Jon Walters earlier in the game, saying his “behaviour was fabulous”.

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Stoke face a trip to Old Trafford to take on the last season’s Premier League runners up on 20th October.

Major League Soccer is undoubtedly growing as a product in the States, with an announcement made towards the end of last year that confirmed the league as the third most attended in the country behind the MLB and NFL.

The league has recently attracted former Premier League stars, Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane and Tim Cahill to sample life on the other side of the Atlantic; and of course the original superstar trailblazer, David Beckham is still going strong for LA Galaxy.

The set-up of the MLS is intriguing in the sense that it tries to replicate a traditional European football league; with a single-table structure, a champion and a relegation/promotion format, but incorporates the ideals of an American pro league at the same time- including play-offs and the financial need to break-even every year.

Like Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, the MLS is formed of franchises- 18 in total, compared to the 30+ in the other US sport leagues.

The MLS struggles to compete with the other major leagues due to the comparatively small talent pool at its disposal. The other leagues represent the pinnacle for any aspiring player in their respective sport, whereas the most promising “soccer” players are most likely to realise their dreams in Europe.

This means that ideas to include more franchises as part of plans to raise the league’s profile would cause the talent to be spread too thinly.

But now in its 17th season, there is a real desire to take the league to a national level and engage it with the entire population; after spending time developing stadia and infrastructure.

It seems that the only way to increase the MLS profile is through enhanced television and digital coverage, which would allow the league to connect better with its fan base in order to grow.

It has taken steps to address this issue, with shows including MLS 36; that aims to introduce prospective fans to different players within the league and provides context about the teams involved.

Although the popularity of European football, particularly the Champions League and Premier League, still takes precedence among many American “soccer” fans; and there is still some reluctance to take the MLS seriously.

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This is not helped by the erratic kick-off times, with the league still yet to create a habitual time slot for matches each week; compare this to the Premier League and fans can wake up on a Saturday morning and watch their favourite English teams play.

The MLS has certainly taken huge strides to compete with the other big US sports and move ahead of the likes of NBA in attendance figures; but the fundamental problems relating to the dominance of European football and the small talent pool of players means that the league can only expand so far before it reaches its limit.

You can follow me on twitter: @JamesHilsum

Tom Huddlestone believes the current Tottenham side need time to start creating more and that the players are still becoming accustomed to manager Andre Villas-Boas’ system.

Spurs have had some poor results recently, with a 0-1 loss at home to Wigan and a defeat in the Capital One Cup to Norwich, which saw them booed by their fans.

However, though Huddlestone understands the fans’ pain, he says the players are still coming to terms with Villas-Boas’ organised ways.

He said: “It is hard for the fans. They’ve watched some good football over the last three or four years, maybe in a gung-ho style, but they’ve got to be patient. The manager is still getting his ideas across. The lads are still getting fully used to what he wants us to do. He’s very organised.

“A lot of his sessions are on a quite rigid team shape whereas maybe under previous regimes the initiative was given to players to express themselves. Under this manager it’s more his ideas and we have to stick to them. Every boss has his own ideas. We’re probably harder to beat now. We’re not as open.

“There have been a couple of games recently where we need to create that little bit more. But that will come with time. Defensively we are keeping our shape more than in previous years and barring the last couple of games it’s worked well this season. We’re better when teams open up and try to attack us. We find gaps when teams try to attack.”

Tottenham face Maribor in the Europa League tonight.

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Andre Villas-Boas has denied that midfielder Moussa Dembele’s injury is the reason for Spurs’ recent poor results.

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Former Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires insists that Wenger needs to find a balance within his team, and start to make cup success a top priority.

The Frenchman spent six years in North London where winning trophies was synonymous with the club as he played his part in two Premier League titles and three FA Cup wins.

Pires was keen to point out that Wenger was the focal point of the football club and that Arsenal need to trust that he will be keep delivering.

“Arsenal goes with Wenger like Wenger goes with Arsenal – you can’t have one without the other,” the 39-year-old told talkSPORT.

“That said, the results this season have simply not been good enough.

“But you can’t forget Arsenal have high expectations because of Arsene Wenger. He has done such a good job over all these years. You cannot forget what he has done for the club and neither should the chairman.

“It’s unfair to compare what we did between 2000 and 2006 – we had a great team, a great mix of English, Spanish, Brazilian and French players. But now a lot has changed. The club’s philosophy seems different.”

Wenger has publicly stated that he believes the importance of achieving Champions League qualification is an essential commodity and one which is underrated by supporters.

However, Pires insists the fans needs to see a palpable return for their support.

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“The most important thing for fans and players is winning titles, be it the FA Cup, the League Cup or the Champions League,” he added.

“It’s been years without a trophy and I know that is very frustrating for Wenger. That should be the number one priority this year.”

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Chelsea are still waiting for their first goal under Rafael Benitez after drawing another blank to draw against Fulham at Stamford Bridge.

The Spaniard’s first game in charge after taking over the reins from Roberto Di Matteo ended in a stalemate with Manchester City on Sunday and the Blues once again failed in front of goal against their West London rivals.

Cottagers boss Martin Jol will be the happier of either managers as his side avoided a third consecutive Premier League defeat, but have one just once in their last nine games and slipped into the bottom half of the table.

Benitez’s debut in the dugout against City attracted the ire of home supporters, who chanted in support of predecessor Di Matteo, and he was again the subject of abuse from the stands.

It made for a hostile atmosphere on Kings Road as the hosts struggled to locate the fluency and attacking flair that saw them head the table during the early part of the campaign.

Fernando Torres’ scuffed effort from Cesar Azpilcueta’s cross proved to be the best opportunity of a colourless, incident free first half  that saw the visitors barely threaten Petr Cech at the other end.

They did create one of the games few clear cut chances after the break but John Arne Riise failed make the right connection to take full advantage of Giorgos Karagounis’ superb through ball in the 56th minute.

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Juan Mata was thrown on just past the hour but even he couldn’t provide the inspiration for the home side that would unlock a stern Fulham back line that repelled attack after attack in the second half.

Chelsea have now dropped seven points off the championship pace and Benitez now has the unenviable task of arresting six-game winless slump.

The first Football League Cup hat-trick was scored at the very start of the opening competition, in October 1960 when Burnley won 4-0 away to Cardiff. Apart from being unique for that reason it’s all the more curious because the scorer of that historic treble, Gordon Harris, was a midfield player or to be more accurate because of the era, an inside-forward.

The most recent treble was scored by Theo Walcott as Arsenal registered the most famous comeback in the history of the competition to beat Reading in that 12 goal thriller in this season’s Capital One Cup in October.

In more than 50 years between there have been a few more hat-tricks, and more, but only one double treble.

Click on Robbie Fowler to see the full countdown of League Cup hat-tricks

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Danny Welbeck has insisted he is willing to bide his time at Manchester United and take his chances when they come, despite a lack of opportunities.

The young England international broke into the team last season and became an integral player for United, however this campaign he has struggled for minutes on the pitch.

The arrival of Robin van Persie in the summer, whose partnership with Wayne Rooney is Sir Alex Ferguson’s first choice pairing, while the return to form of Javier Hernandez has put Welbeck further down the pecking  order at Old Trafford.

Welbeck told the clubs official website of his feelings on the season so far saying, “It’s been a bit stop-start. I’ve not been playing in my favoured position up front – I’ve been on the wing in most games – so it’s been different to last season, when I played mostly as a striker.

“But I’m enjoying it, the team is playing well and we’re in a great position in the league, which is the most important thing.”

The 22-year-old who also lead the line for England at Euro 2012 has started just seven of the Red Devils’ 20 Premier League games so far this season, including Saturday’s victory over West Brom.

Welbeck is willing to remain patient though, aware of the quality of players he is contending with and believes that he is learning from all of them in training.

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“They all have strengths in abundance that I can add to my own game,” he added.

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Tonight’s Capital One Cup semi-final first leg between Chelsea and Swansea sees two managers with very different points to prove as Rafa Benitez and Michael Laudrup pit their wits against each other for a place in the final.

Laudrup can do nothing wrong at the Liberty Stadium at the moment, cementing the Swans’ reputation as one of the most entertaining sides in the Premier League and pulling off arguably the signing of the season, in languid, 13 goals-and-counting front man Michu. But what the Great Dane wants to do more than anything else, is end the club’s 100 year wait for a major trophy and the Capital One Cup is his best chance to do just that.

On the other hand, incumbent Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez will want to silence the Stamford Bridge boo-boys and prove to the fans, and Roman Abramovich, that he is the right man for the job. It’s going to be a big ask, but the former Liverpool manager has already showed signs of winning the club’s supporters over with a number of impressive displays and adding to the Russian Oligarch’s trophy cabinet will certainly do his bid for the hot seat full time no harm.

Chelsea will be missing injured number one Petr Cech and recently returned midfielder Yossi Benayoun as well as long term absentees John Terry and Oriol Romeu through injury. John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses are also unavailable as they have left West London to compete in the African Cup of Nations.

Neil Taylor is the only Swansea player missing through injury after he was ruled out for the season with a fractured ankle, while Gerhard Tremmel is set to start between the sticks and Angel Rangel could return from a calf problem.

Whatever the outcome between these two sides tonight, Football FanCast will be following every tackle, pass and goal as it happens in our LIVE Blog below.

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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has made Swansea’s Ashley Williams his number one summer target, according to reports from the Daily Mail.

The Northern Irishman coached the centre-back in his spell with the Swans, prior to taking the Anfield hot seat ahead of the current season.

After addressing the club’s attacking deficiencies with the additions of Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge in January, he has now set his sights on bolstering his defensive options.

Williams is reportedly Rodgers’ main target, and he is lining up a bid for the Welsh international’s signature at the end of the season.

With news that veteran Jamie Carragher is set to retire and speculation that Martin Skrtel could return to Zenit Saint Petersburg in a £12m deal, Liverpool’s rear-guard appears to be an area of uncertainty.

Rodgers is keen to bring in the man he worked with at Swansea and is confident that the 28-year-old will slot in seamlessly alongside Daniel Agger.

Michael Laudrup will be far from happy to lose his star defender, but the club may reluctantly accept Liverpool’s advances, as they did last summer with Joe Allen.

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Rodgers is reportedly planning an overhaul of his squad at the end of the current campaign, with a number of first-team players believed to be surplus to requirements.

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