Gareth Southgates reign as interim England manager began with a 2-0 victory over Malta in Saturdays World Cup qualifier at Wembley. Fake Air Max 97 Plus . Southgate, in temporary charge after Sam Allardyces departure last week, watched as Daniel Sturridge headed the opener in the first half, with Dele Alli dispatching their second before a quiet second half.Here, we pick out five talking points from a solid but unspectacular victory for the Three Lions… Southgate makes winning startA few weeks ago Gareth Southgate was expecting to spend the international break preparing for the U21s meetings with Kazakhstan and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but Allardyces sudden departure has thrust him into an unfamiliar role, and he can have few complaints about his first game in charge. Gareth Southgate speaks to Sky Sports after Englands 2-0 win over Malta It was not the thrashing many people had anticipated, but England could hardly have been more comfortable. Eighty per cent possession and 20 shots to Maltas one highlighted their dominance, and their two-goal half-time lead allowed them to coast through the second period and conserve their energy for Tuesdays trip to Slovenia.A meeting with Malta is unlikely to have much bearing on whether Southgate gets the job on a permanent basis, but its a platform to build on and the 46-year-old was pleased with the result. I thought we did some very good things, he told Sky Sports. After a difficult 10 days, for them to play like they did in the first half was pleasing. Theres a lot more to come.Henderson pulls the stringsJordan Henderson has made a strong start to the season with Liverpool and his impressive form continued at Wembley. The 26-year-old was deployed in his usual deep-lying midfield role, but that didnt stop him being Englands main creative outlet. Liverpools Jordan Henderson was named man-of-the-match He carved Malta open with a string of accurate long-range passes in the first half, setting up Jesse Lingard for a glorious chance before providing the assist for his club team-mate Sturridge to score the opener. He was heavily involved in the second goal, too, bursting into the box and teeing up Alli to find the net at the second attempt. Henderson the creator Jordan Henderson created four goalscoring chances against Malta - twice as many as any other player on the pitch. Henderson was a peripheral figure at Euro 2016, but recent evidence suggests he may be worthy of a more prominent role in the national side. Southgate will have been impressed by what he saw.Rooney returns to midfield Rooney may not have a future in Manchester Uniteds midfield but he was back in the middle of the park for Southgates first game in charge of the national team - just as he was under Allardyce against Slovakia. Wayne Rooney returned to Englands midfield at Wembley He saw plenty of the ball, taking 170 touches and completing 133 passes, but his contribution was minimal compared to his midfield partner Henderson, and he was also fortunate to avoid punishment for a studs-up challenge on Malta captain Andre Schembri in the first half.Englands midfield was rarely troubled in a defensive sense by the Group F minnows, but with Eric Dier waiting in the wings, Rooney offered little to suggest he would merit a place in the starting line-up against stronger opposition.Sturridge makes his caseSturridge only played eight minutes of Englands opening group game against Slovakia last month, so he will have been pleased to mark his return to the starting line-up with a goal against Malta. Daniel Sturridge scored from Jordan Hendersons cross in the first half The Liverpool man made the most of slack marking to guide Hendersons cross into the net, and he would have added to his tally were it not for a combination of wasteful finishing and impressive goalkeeping by Maltas Andrew Hogg.All in all, though, it was a good nights work for the 27-year-old. England have real competition for places in attack, but Harry Kanes injury has given Sturridge a chance to stake his claim. He will be hoping to keep his place in the team over Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford against Slovenia.Tougher tests to comeThe result was never in doubt here, but Southgates credentials will be more strongly tested on Tuesday night in Ljubljana. The Three Lions needed an 86th-minute winner from Rooney on their last trip to the Slovenian capital in June 2015, and it will be another tricky test this time around. Maltas Alfred Effiong controls the ball under pressure from Wayne Rooney and John Stones Southgate may still be in place when England welcome old foes Scotland to Wembley in a months time, and then theres the prospect of a showpiece friendly against Julen Lopeteguis Spain. Southgate and his players put the Allardyce affair behind them with Saturdays easy win over Malta, but there are far more difficult tests ahead.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Solid start for Southgate England 2-0 Malta recap Air Max 97 Just Do It White . The day began ominously for the Rangers when star pitcher Yu Darvish was scratched from his scheduled start with stiffness in his neck. Fill-in Scott Baker gave up three hits over six innings and Chris Gimenez hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the sixth off Phil Hughes. Cheap Air Max 97 Wholesale . Completely. Two days after releasing Peyton Manning, the longtime face of the franchise, the Colts announced they were cutting four fan favourites: running back Joseph Addai, linebacker Gary Brackett, safety Melvin Bullitt and tight end Dallas Clark. http://www.outletairmax97.com/ . Vonn punctuated her near-perfect season in perfect fashion Friday, earning her fourth overall World Cup title with a dominating giant slalom victory.NEW YORK -- When Troy Vincent mentioned in April the NFLs interest in establishing a developmental league, he couldnt have imagined the response it would get. "I got more than 100 proposals," he said with a laugh. "I think that shows it is worth a look." And that is what it will get, although the NFL has no timetable for establishing such a league. Why is it likely to get off the ground? Vincent, who recently became the NFLs head of football operations, cites a bunch of reasons, from training coaches and officials to finding players to testing rules. "It would be an opportunity to enhance our game on many levels, to develop the future, preserve and innovate the game," he said. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin would like to see it happen. "Im in favour of anything that increases opportunities for guys to grow and develop," Tomlin said, "and ultimately improve the product of our game for our fans, particularly at some positions." Notably, quarterback. Tomlin is well aware of how former Super Bowl QBs Kurt Warner and Jake Delhomme were helped by their time in the minors. "Quarterbacks often dont come to you ready-made, particularly with the way college football is played now with so many spread offences and half-field reads and so forth," Tomlin said. Tomlin is right that the NFL relies on the college game for developing the skills of potential pro players. That wont change but, as the number of undrafted free agents who populate NFL rosters shows -- 31.4 per cent in 2014 -- there are hundreds of players who would benefit from having a place to showcase themselves if the NFL doesnt come calling. Not since NFL Europe disappeared in 2007 has there been an NFL-affiliated place where players could go to prove themselves worthy of a look by one of the leagues 32 teams. Same thing for officials and coaches. "Thats what NFL Europe was intended to be, a developmental league," said Falcons defensive co-ordinator Mike Nolan, a former head coach in the NFL. "I thought it was great for coaches, I thought it was great for players, I thought it was great for officials. It wasnt my money they were spending on it, but I always thought the time was worth it. " There are dozens of questions accompanying any project: When and where would the league play games? How many teams would be in a developmental league? Who would play and coach? Would television be interested? Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp, a Chicago-based consulting firm, has a strong relationship with many team owners. He envisions a league being established for spring play, with all of the teams supplying players they want to see more from. "After the NFL season and before the training camps, say March to July," Ganis said. "Its an open time in the sports schedule. The colleges are done and the NBA and NHL playoffs wind down. "A league in the fall is really tough. It is not like baseball, where teams cann be calling up players every day from the minors. Air Max 97 Plus Black Orange. There would be lots of restrictions on player movement then." This wont be an international venture, either. In fact, it probably would be done regionally, cutting down on travel costs. "I do envision some sort of developmental league, based maybe in Florida or Texas or Arizona," said former NFL general manager Phil Savage, who now is the executive director of the Senior Bowl. "Anywhere from four to six teams; I dont think more than eight. "I see it as tightly managed, with not a ton of travel. And I dont think it would matter the size of the stadiums and crowds, because its a minor league, a place to look at players from the lower end of the roster or players trying to make it into the NFL." Ganis says not to worry about TV interest. "The networks have open time in the spring, and its an NFL product. There would be room on the networks for games on the weekend, and on the cable outlets for weeknights," he said. "Theres really a dearth of major sports on the weekends then. "I think you would see all the networks with cable channels -- CBS, Fox, NBC, and of course NFL Network -- to be interested. And ESPN would likely want in on the mix, although they need it the least." Savage was most intrigued by Vincents suggestion that an academy for training players, coaches and officials could accompany a D-league. But he foresees such an academy being held during the NFL season. "It would be in one centralized location and these players go there and they keep their football life afloat for another few months or another season," Savage said. "And maybe they show enough to play in the developmental league the next spring. Or maybe they get discovered for the NFL." One major caveat would be the status of the players. Would they be NFL Players Association members? What sort of medical coverage would they have? What would their salaries be? Savage believes the league, the union and the American Football Coaches Association -- the organization for college coaches -- could work out a strategy that would lead to a developmental league by the end of the decade, perhaps much sooner. "I think it could be a really neat thing and can help a lot of players," he said. Rams coach Jeff Fisher, co-chairman of the NFLs influential competition committee, agrees. "Theres been discussions over the last couple years. I dont know what direction its going, but I think we have a need for it," Fisher said. "I think it would be beneficial from a young players standpoint. ... if you have to make an outside roster move to get somebody thats in shape that you can evaluate on film." Vincent, naturally, is in a position to help bring a league, and an academy, into existence. "If it is something sustainable and it is good for the sport, and we can make it work," Vincent said, "its worth pursuing." ' ' '  |
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