Warren meets... Wilfried Zaha

It's been quite a journey for a man, or, at the age of just 19, a boy who many tip for the top. Wilfried came down to my second home, Southampton for a chat on "Black History Month". I went down there too and managed to catch up with the Crystal Palace and England under-21 attacker.

WL: Wilfried, you've been at Crystal Palace your whole career and were taken on at Selhurst Park at 10 years of age. How were you spotted?

WZ: Basically, I went to a school called Whitehorse Manor and I played for the school team. We used to get entered for a number of different tournaments. We had a really good school team and we used to win most of them. One day, one game, a Crystal Palace scout came to watch us, liked what he saw and from then three of us got selected. When we got selected, out of the three of us, I was the only one who managed to stay on. I had to put in so much work - on my own, at home, practising in the back garden so yeah, I managed to stay, come up through the ranks and get to where I am now.

WL: Any ideas who the scout was that helped you seize your chance?

WZ: I can't really remember his name.... Dave... I think his surname was Webber... yeah, Dave Webber I think.

WL: The other two who didn't make it, do you remember their names?

WZ: I actually don't know what their doing really. One of the others is still a friend. His name's Adrian Thomas and I think he's still in education. I still keep in contact with him quite a bit but the other one, I don't know his name and I haven't a clue what he's doing.

WL: Of course, Palace have a very good reputation of bringing through youngsters such as you and Nathaniel Clyne, are you looking to follow in his footsteps and play in the Premier League, possibly with Palace?

WZ:  Yeah, definitely. That's my goal, that's where I want to be. I'm really enjoying it at Palace but anyone at my age will have the same goal and the Premier League is definitely a level I want to reach looking to the future.

CLYNE: Now playing for Southampton 

WL: You obviously know Nathaniel well, I take it the both of you still keep in touch?

WZ: Yeah, we do. Before a game, he'd send me a message saying "Good luck" and of course, I'd return the favour by wishing him the best of luck before any game that he plays. We're both friends and we constantly keep in contact all the time because we were both really close when he was with me at Palace.

WL: I can't not ask you about the Manchester United match last season. I've been there as a fan but playing there, walking out and getting the win must have been incredible!

WZ: It was sensational! No words can really describe what it felt like to be honest with you. To play at Old Trafford, against those players - who I looked to as role models and watching them on Match of the Day every Saturday night was unbelievable. To get the result as well was just mind-blowing. It was crazy!

Zaha (yellow) sheilds the ball from United right back Rafael

WL: You're a very highly rated footballer who many, myself included, believe are one of the best players in the Championship. When you're booed by opposition fans due to being a good player, does that motivate you to perhaps play a little bit better in a way?

WZ: It does. Because of all the grief I get from "bitter" fans, it motivates me more. I'm here for a reason and fans like to say I'm over-rated so I like to show them that I'm here because of what I've done, I'm not lucky to be picked, I've earned myself the right to be playing.

WL: Dougie Freedman (Palace manager) has left the club to join Bolton Wanderers, is that something that surprises you?

WZ: I'm dissapointed to see him go. I first met him when I was 14 so he's always been around the place in some key years for me. He's a good man and I've sent him a message saying goodbye and wishing him the best.

FREED: Zaha is sad to see his manager leave

WL: Let's talk about your international career now and looking in from the outside, I can see there are some very good players such as Tom Ince and yourself in the England under-21s. What are your views on the squad from inside the camp?

WZ: Being able to play with some of the best young players in England altogether is something that's difficult to explain.... There's not one player in the squad who isn't good if you know what I mean?! Players like Raheem Sterling for example who has got loads of tricks and lots of pace - playing with these guys just motivates you to play better with all the talent that you have around you really.

Sterling has broken through the Liverpool ranks this season

WL: Of course, we must talk about the unsavoury incidents in the Serbia game last week. You played in the match. It was shocking wasn't it?

WZ: It was just disgusting to be out there and to be treated in that way. The good thing was that Stuart Pearce (England under-21 manager) just told us what to expect. He told us not to react and just to have a professional mindset out there to do the job of getting to the European Championships and get it done. We already had a plan in our mindsets - we had to take it in and not let it affect us. It was ridiculous really to get that level of abuse.

Zaha leaves 3 players in his wake during the "disgusting" game

WL: Do you get that level of abuse over here in any of the games you have played in the Championship?

WZ: I got it once.... It was against Millwall. I don't let it affect me really. I go there to do what I have to do on the football pitch and then leave when the game is finished. I don't have to get into anything like arguments with any of the fans. To tell you the truth it doesn't get to me and at the end of the day, I'm only there to play football.

WL: You mentioned the Euro's earlier, what can England achieve from that tournament? Is the sky the limit?

WZ: Literally, the sky is the limit with the players we have. When you look at the quality in the squad then I really don't see any reason why we can't go there and win it.

WL: In the future, do you have any interests in playing abroad? Would someone like a Barcelona or Real Madrid be something that would interest you?

WZ: Definitely. That's one of my goals as well. I'm still young but playing for one of those teams is something I'd like to do - they're two of the best teams in the world.

WL: So Spain is the aim?!

WZ: Definitely. Spain IS the aim!

Many thanks to Wilfried for taking the time out to speak to me.

Some photos courtesy of The Sun, TalkSport & Zimbio

Euro Review: New Manager, Same Old England

After a new found belief from England fans, they were brought down to earth with a bump as the national side crashed out of Euro 2012 on penalties again, this time to Italy.

PAYING THE PENALTY: Diamanti Strokes Home

After a "solid" performance in the group stages with a draw in Group D's opening game against France followed by an entertaining or painful (whatever way you look at it) win versus Sweden.  The final game in Donetsk against co-hosts Ukraine was a nervy 1-0 win thanks to a goal from the returning Wayne Rooney which, along with Sweden beating France meant England qualified by topping the group.

RETURN OF THE ROON: Wayne marked his return with a goal

It wouldn't have been England if they hadn't had players pull out; Frank Lampard, Gary Cahill, Gareth Barry and goalkeeper John Ruddy all missed the Championships through injury.

Despite the failures once again, there were a few positives to take out of the tournament.

New manager Roy Hodgson looked to youth for a change.  Under Fabio Capello you always had the feeling that no matter what happened, the "old guard" would still be playing the next game.  The likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Welbeck were given their chance to shine with the latter arguably getting the goal of the tournament with his match-winning, mid-air backheel against Sweden.

Welbeck (L) and Carroll (R) were given their chance

Roy made a big decision in not taking Rio Ferdinand to Poland/Ukraine, and, with Cahill injured, Joleon Lescott filled the void beside John Terry and did not disappoint.  Personally, I felt that leaving Rio out was a good call and a brave one from the manager.

Another positive was the fact that Roy seemed to install a sense of pride back into the nation again.  One improvement was seeing all of the players singing the national anthem.  Even  Rooney opened his mouth to sing for once.

SING WHEN YOU'RE WINNING: Even Rooney sung

The negatives now and for me it was disappointing to see the lack of threat attacking-wise from England.  Admittedly losing Rooney for the first two games was a blow but it would have been nice to have seen us create a few more chances.

Much has been talked about our lack of keeping the ball.  In my opinion this is because we tried so hard to get the ball back that when we did have it, the players were knackered and the pass went astray.

GERRARD: Reviltalised but knackered

Another gripe of mine was hearing most saying how well the team have done to reach the quarter finals.  For me, the quarter finals was the minimum requirement - It's something that England have done consistently (Apart from 2008) in recent times so for the team to be congratulated on it is wrong.

Finally, with regards to the game (which Italy deservedly one) I did not see the huge fuss about Andrea Pirlo that everyone way making out.  He's a good player, don't get me wrong, but with the amount of space he had given to him, a player of his quality you'd expect him to pick out passes to his team mates.  As for his penalty, it would have been a poor one had Joe Hart just stood in the centre of the goal and caught it.  "Quality penalty". I disagree.

Pirlo's "dink" could have left him red faced

Still, we'll win the World Cup in Brazil in two years time right?!

Until next week...

England Expects... Or Do They?

I doubt many managers have a CV like new England manager Roy Hodgson's.  The Croydon-born national gaffer has managed all around the world, for high calibre sides such as Inter Milan and Liverpool but with his chance with England sees Roy return to the national stage for the first time in five years.

Hodgson has plenty of experience. He isn't like a Fabio Capello or a Steve McLaren in making their first national appearance as England manager; Roy managing the likes of Finland, UAE and an impressive stint in charge of Switzerland shows he knows what to do at this level.

With the Swiss, he managed to finish an extremely impressive 3rd in the Fifa World Rankings in 1993 and, after leaving the post in 1996 was it any surprise that they failed to qualify for a major tournament for the next eight years?!

The Swiss were on a roll under Roy

It shows what he can do when not under any real pressure.  At Fulham, Hodgson took them from a mid-table Premier league side to the Europa League runners up; suffering defeat a 2-1 defeat, after extra time to an Atheltico Madrid side including stars such as Simao, Jose Antonio Reyes, Sergio Aguero and eventual two goal hero Diego Forlan.

Fulham lost in the Final

Of course, the forgettable stint at Liverpool slightly overshadows his roller-coaster of a career but his time at West Bromwich Albion increased his reputation further by turning a side that is renowned as a "yo-yo club" (Relegated to the Championship and then promoted again) into an established top flight team, leading the Baggies to a top half finish of 10th, playing some attractive football and being hard to beat - Something England haven't had.

Finally here he is, having the honour to manage his country.  It's taken Roy a long time to reach the pinnacle.

For once, England as a nation aren't expectant.  Instead of picking the same old players, Roy has brought in the odd unknown in the shape of Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; one of the brightest young hopes for the future, in a bid to surprise the opposition.

Without the pressure or expectancy, Hodgson has shown that he has the talents to do well, with England there is always these two components although this time, less of the latter.

He can't do it all on his own, obviously the big names like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry and a late coming from Wayne Rooney would help but an England without expectancy maybe, just maybe could help Roy and his boys.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: England need them on their game

As an Englishman I'm pleased with the selection; experience at an international level, knows the game inside out and is English.  Admittedly I was never on the "He has to be English" bandwagon and personally I wanted Guus Hiddink, another who has tremendous experience worldwide but, I have a feeling that Roy will do well; he seems respected and knowledgeable as well as media friendly which is always a plus as England manager.

Also, I suppose that if it is a boring 0-0 game, at least he's entertaining on the touchline...

and...

C'mon England!

Until next week...

Warren meets... Matt Le Tissier

As many will know, Matt Le Tissier is a bit of a legend down where I now live in Southampton.

Anyway, tonight I conducted a quick interview with Matt or as he is affectionately known by Saints fans "Le God".

WL: How did a lad from the Channel Islands enter the footballing world?

MLT: I was spotted by Southampton when I was playing for the Guernsey under 15s tour of Hampshire. I played two or three games and even played out of position in one of the games - Of course I'm a central midfielder and I got played out on the right wing and one of the scouts saw me, assumed I was a right winger and decided to invite me over for a trial.

WL: In the end you spent sixteen years at Saints, a long time and a lot of loyalty there. Would you consider yourself as the big fish in the small pond plying your trade at one of the so called smaller clubs?

MLT:  Yeah, definitely and that was probably one of the reasons I stayed - I loved the status, loved the place, the fans were great to me so I saw no reason to move on whilst we were playing in the top division.

WL: And, on the topic of loyalty what's your view of it nowadays in football?

MLT: There's not a lot of it nowadays to be honest with you but that is to be expected. The kind of money thats floating around in the game now.  I mean, I have to say that if given my time again and I was earning three or four thousand pounds a week at Southampton and was offered one hundred grand a week to go and play at Man City then I'm not sure how loyal I could have been with that kind of offer.  I can't blame the players for wanting to make the most of what they can while their doing it.

WL: Of course Matt you were renowned for your penalty taking ability. With forty seven successful attempts out of forty eight efforts tell me just what was the secret?

MLT: I think a lot of it came down to a positive mental attitude and a technique where I could side foot the ball pretty powerfully so I could keep the accuracy there into the corners and know that most of the time it was probably going to go in.

WL: Matt, whilst we are talking about penalty conversions why can't England win a penalty shoot out?!

MLT: Well we did win one against Spain in about 1996 - A long time ago! I don't know. I think we have kind of got bogged down with them an the players seemed to get affected by the fact that the media go on about it quite a bit that we are crap and everyone thinks that we're crap and we're going to be crap. Until we change the media's perception of it then it's going to be very difficult to get out of that rut.

WL: Continuing with national football, Spanish World Cup winner Xavi mentioned that you were one of his inspirations growing up which must be pleasing to hear?!

MLT: Yeah, yeah he did. It was nice yeah I mean for somebody who has gone on to win the World Cup and The European Championships to say that about you is quite an accolade really. Yeah, chuffed to bits!

WL: Still on the national scene, it must be disappointing that, for a player of your quality to have only made eight appearances for England. Surely you should have earned more?

MLT: Yes and no. Obviously my ambition was to play for England as a boy and I realised that it was a massive thing for me. I think you will have to ask the England managers why I didn't make more caps.  I think a lot of it was because I was playing for an unfashionable club - It wasn't one of the bigger clubs and you kind of don't get looked upon favourably as when your maybe playing for one of the big boys.

WL: And after that, what are your feelings now towards Glenn Hoddle?!

MLT: Erm........ It was a long time ago.  We actually did have a chat - We were on the same golf trip in Dubai a few years ago and we sat down over breakfast, had a little chat and kind of resolved our differences so I'd like to say that my relationship with Glenn is fine now!

WL: Off the pitch, you have got a son - Mitchell - What are the chances of seeing another member of the Le Tissier clan grace the Premier League stage?!

MLT: Erm... (Laughs) No chance whatsoever!  He's actually far more into his cricket than he is football to be honest and he plays a little bit of five-a-side but there is no chance yu will see him in the Premier League I can assure you!

WL: When retiring, were you interested in maybe going into the coaching or managing side of things or was getting into media the real plan?

MLT: I kind of just fell into the media really - Never had that many great plans. It just turned out that way. I didn't have any ambitions to get into coaching but you never rule it out because you never know what hand life's going to deal you. Who knows what the future brings? I will never say never.

WL: As I've mentioned, you are in the media now and although it has its pros you must be dissapointed not to watch live games on a Saturday afternoon?

MLT: It does curtail my chances of getting to St. Marys but I do get down to the midweek ones when I'm not working. I think last season was about six or seven games and this season it will probably turn out the same but its my job and I've still got a mortgage to pay so it has to be done!

WL: Matt, its those old classics now - Best player played with and best player played against...GO!

MLT: Best player played with is definitely Gazza (Paul Gascoigne)... unbelievable player. I feel sad for him because I think that possibly playing thirty odd games one season and then getting a bad injury and not playing really at all the next hit him hard health wise - he just wanted to play all the time.  It was different to me because I just went on a downward spiral gradually during the latter part of my career!  Best player played against...... We played Juventus once and they had a fella called Roberto Baggio - he was alright!  The one player I really dreaded playing against was Stuart Pearce - If there was a chance of taking the ball and the man then Stuart would never turn the opportunity down!

WL: When you were a youngster who was the one player you wanted to emulate?

MLT: Liam Brady - I was a Tottenham fan back then but with me being from Guernsey and not London there was never really any real hatred towards Arsenal so admiring Liam was okay!  

WL: Finally Matt, Saints have certainly had a topsy-turvey last couple of years but now it looks like they are really on the rise.

MLT: Yeah its been a pretty decent start. I think its exceeded everyone's expectations at the start of the season so if we can keep it going then we will keep our fingers crossed that next season we'll be back in the big time.

Me and Le Tiss