Here is a snippet -

“As soon as it emerged that Alex McLeish was set for the sack at Aston Villa, tongues were wagging and you can see why. Lambert would be the perfect choice for the Midlands club and would do a fantastic job – no arguments about that.

Would Lambert want to go to Villa Park though? Well, it seems nobody knows what he is thinking and this is nothing new. Who can ever pick the starting eleven each week for example?

Put another way, Lambert is his own man and always will be. When he left Colchester United, people said ‘Why would he go to Norwich? They are in a mess.’ The same can be applied to Villa now, but it doesn’t mean anything with regards to what Lambert will do.

We need to stop pretending we know what will happen with Lambert’s future. Nobody other than the man himself knows what he is thinking. Don’t be fooled otherwise by the ‘Isn’t it a backward step?’ or ‘He wants to be closer to Scotland’ brigade.

We should just enjoy the summer – as much as we can – and conclude that whatever happens, happens.”

Read the full article here…

Also, remember you can follow me on Twitter here and check out the latest TMR Media happenings here.

Unfortunately, it was washed out at the half-way stage – as much of the season has been so far, but it was good to be back at the home of Norfolk Cricket again.

You can see the online version of my report here.

More to come this summer!

Of course, my preference in the summer months has always been cricket – and always will be – but with Euro 2012, the football side of me can be fed too.

Here is a piece I wrote about the appointment of Roy Hodgson as England manager -

“Roy Hodgson has become the England manager. He was announced earlier this week as the man that will lead England in Euro 2012.

Already though, people are criticising the decision. Of course, this isn’t a surprise, anyone could have been announced and it would have been met with hesitation, speculation and general negativity.”

Read the rest here.

Also, remember you can follow me on Twitter here and check out the latest TMR Media happenings here.

Cheers.

When Essex all-rounder Graham Napier blasted 152 not out during a Twenty20 fixture against Sussex in 2008, it was heralded as a one-off, an achievement that could never be repeated.

However, some three years later, Napier reminded everybody of his explosive hitting last week with an innings of 196 from 130 balls against Surrey, including a world-record equalling 16 sixes.

You can read the rest of this article here.

I will be writing features for www.ecb.co.uk all summer.

Fresh from their Ashes victory in Australia earlier this year, England return to the test arena this week as they take on Sri Lanka in the first of three test matches.

Forming the first part of a fascinating summer for Andrew Strauss’ men, the match takes place at the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff and will get underway on Thursday morning.

You can read the rest of this article here.

Fresh from securing the league title in their respective countries, Manchester United and Barcelona do battle on 28th May in the Champions League final at Wembley.

It is the final that most football fans around the world wanted. The most famous football club of all time taking on arguably the greatest club team of all time. Could we ask for much more?

You can read the rest of this article here.

The Premier League is the most entertaining league in the world. Of that there can surely be no doubt. Goals, passionate fans, controversy and watched the world over – it really is the pinnacle of club football as far as entertainment is concerned.

The 2011/2012 Premier League season is set to be better than ever though, purely for the fact that it is going to be incredibly competitive at the top. There will be a number of teams vying for Champions League places as well as the title itself.

Looking at this year,  Manchester United and Chelsea have been the teams to beat once again. The Premier League used to have a ‘big four’ at the top, it is arguably now a ‘big two’ with these two teams finishing in the top two places in six of the last seven campaigns.

There is a chasing pack though and there is no way United or Chelsea will comfortably hold onto their place in the top two next season.

You can read the rest of this article here.

Of course, this has limited my time to contribute to this site, but I want to get it going again.

An article a day might be ambitious, but that’s what I am aiming for.

If for no other reason than to let you all know what I am up to.

For now, you can follow me on Twitter.

Despite this, the first real chance fell to the home side as Frederic Piquionne’s header was cleared off the line by Carlos Salcido.

Fulham were always a threat though and were rewarded for their earlier dominance when Clint Dempsey volleyed passed Robert Green from inside the area on 33 minutes.

West Ham pushed for an equaliser before the break, but they were disappointing in the final third and failed to create too much.

They didn’t have to wait too long into the second half to get back on level terms though.

Brede Hangeland’s mistake let in Victor Obinna to cross the ball into the path of Piquionne who made no mistake from close range.

Both sides then had spells on top during the second half, with the majority of chances coming in the final ten minutes of the game.

Scott Parker could only find the side netting with his shot from a tight angle for West Ham and his team mate Robert Green then made a fine save from a close range Dickson Etuhu header.

Fulham had another opportunity to secure all three points in stoppage time, but substitute Diomansy Kamara curled the ball wide after being played clear on goal.

The home side didn’t make their extra possession count though and Villa slowly started coming into the game with James Collins forcing a good save from Marcus Hahnemann from his free header.

The away side then capitalised on their bright spell by taking the lead on 25 minutes. Marc Albrighton produced an excellent cross for Stewart Downing to tap home at the back post.

Wolves almost his back quickly, but they found Brad Friedel in excellent form as he made a double save from Steven Fletcher and then Kevin Doyle to keep his team ahead going into the break.

Mick McCarthy’s men started the second half as they did the first – on top. They made the most of it this time too, with Matt Jarvis’ dangerous cross finding its way into the back of the net.

Villa responded well to being pegged back though and despite occasional Wolves pressure, they always looked the more likely team to score a winner. They did just that in the 88th minute when Heskey headed home superbly from a Steven Warnock cross to secure the three points.

Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool were all knocked out by teams they were expected to beat and this only touches the surface of the excitement.

I had the pleasure of doing live goal updates for the Chelsea v Newcastle game as well as the Scunthorpe v Manchester United one, so it is fair to say I was busy!

Newcastle ran out 4-3 winners at Stamford Bridge in a thrilling contest and Manchester United were 5-2 conquerors of Championship side Scunthorpe. I’m not sure I will cover two games that include 14 goals between them ever again!

As mentioned, there was drama for Liverpool and Manchester City too. Roy Hodgson’s men lost on penalties to League Two side Northampton Town, whereas Roberto Mancini watched on as his side were knocked out to fellow Premier League side West Brom.

All in all, it was a superb evening of football and shows that those who talk about the Carling Cup as pointless are extremely wide of the mark.

Referring to the England squad for the greatest test of all, there weren’t too many surprises. The most notable inclusions being Steven Davies as the second wicket keeper, Monty Panesar as the second spinner and Chris Tremlett in as another bowling option.

These three selections are all justified too. Davies has been extremely impressive in the ODI series against Pakistan and this, combined with his heavy run scoring for his County, means he is a solid back up for Matt Prior.

Panesar deserves to be back in the fold too. It seems to have passed people by that he has taken quite a lot of Championship wickets this summer. He has played in Australia before too, with relative success, so this weighed heavily in his favour.

As for Tremlett, not many would have given him a chance at the start of the summer. He had just moved to Surrey and was simply aiming to get his career on track. With 48 County Championship wickets though, he has caught the eye again. Throw in the fact that he has height, pace and bounce – something the Aussies aren’t too keen on facing – and you have yourself a very valuable bowling option.

It is likely, of course, that none of these three will play in the first test at Brisbane on 25^th November. England have a settled side after a fantastic couple of years and an extremely productive summer.

The likes of Andrew Strauss, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann have proved themselves as regular match winners. Then there is Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Matt Prior and Steven Finn who have had excellent English summers.

On top of this you have Alistair Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood all due to come good. They haven’t been at their best in the last few months, but what better time to improve than in an Ashes series?

This list doesn’t even include the regular heroics of Eoin Morgan or the ever improving consistency of Tim Bresnan. Basically, the squad is strong and has what it takes to defeat the Australians.

With Strauss and Andy Flower at the helm, you just know they are going to be prepared for battle too. So, bring on November, bring on Brisbane and bring on the Australians. This England team is one to be reckoned with.