It's hammer England day in the national papers

Today's Papers / Top Dog / 07 September 2007 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Betfair's Top Dog sniffs around the truth behind the latest tabloid tales

Top Dog

Betfair's top dog sniffs around the truth behind the latest tabloid tales.

• Cruft's champion - Top stories that can dominate the news agenda
• Pedigree chum - Insights that tell you something you don't know
• Dog's dinner - Speculation, guesswork, or ideas that just don't come off.

Top Dog says:

It's hammer England day. The Express quotes Sir Bobby Charlton, the Mirror talks to Lee Sharpe, and the Sun gets the most relevant piece from Tony Adams. Does any other country go into big games with such a negative outlook? Even a Rio Ferdinand interview that was set up by the FA publicity machine and is given massive space in every paper dwells on all the past flops and failures. Are the nerves spreading to the team now?

Cruft's:
The Sun - Mac's like Turnip Taylor - Tony Adams pulls Steve McClaren apart in a frank interview. Usually negative pieces come from rent-a-quote ex players or out of work bosses (The Mirror runs a similar piece from Lee Sharpe). But this is from a man whose views count and makes fascinating - and worrying - reading. England still 1.8 to qualify from Group E - but then they were odds on to qualify for the 1994 World Cup too!

Pedigree Chum:

Daily Mirror - Exile over for Heskey - Alan Nixon reckons Emile Heskey has won the nod from Steve McClaren to start alongside Michael Owen rather than Andy Johnson. Nixon's sources are all in the North West - around Wigan and Everton, in fact - so there's every chance it's a leak from one of those clubs. Heskey's 3.55 to score at Wembley. His presence might make Michael Owen better value at 2.6.

Daily Mirror - Burley to leave Saints' turmoil - Darren Lewis quotes friends of George Burley who say he is on the point of quitting Southampton because of the boardroom battles that are still going on at St Mary's. Lewis is not a reporter who goes for wild speculation, and this is one of those stories that might get denied in the next few days and then come true in a month or so - although not if Burley's aim is to apply a bit of pressure to get the politics resolved. Saints are 4.6 for promotion or 5.5 to lay. If Burley goes they've got no chance.

Dog' s dinner:

Daily Mail - Wenger's £4.5m pay deal - Arsene Wenger could do with taking the Daily Mail into The Emirates boardroom before he signs his contract today - Neil Ashton's story gives him £10,000 a week more than the figures put on his new pay deal by all the other papers.

Daily Mail - I'll be there - Neil Ashton again says Steven Gerrard will definitely play against Israel. The headline says he won't have painkillers, but Ashton's copy says only that he might not. A back page lead that tells you nothing.

The Sun - Jewell no to Derby - Strange little story suggests Paul Jewell has been approached about taking over at Pride Park. Jewell's said to have told them he wouldn't discuss it while Billy Davies was still in the job. Looks like a bit of gossip, but just keep an eye on the price for Davies to be the next manager out. It's dropped to 5.5.

Today's other stories:

The Sun - Rio Ferdinand interview - Ronny Rosenthal on England's five star flops - Ryan Babel interview on how he's settling at Anfield

Daily Express - Sir Bobby Charlton hammers McClaren - Rio Ferdinand on England frustration - Wenger's deal is Fab news - Rob Earnshaw interview

Daily Star - Rio's Euro fear - Hargreaves might still play - Gareth Barry profile - Rob Earnshaw's pledge to Toshack - Fergie's praise for Healy

Daily Mirror - Rio: We dare not fail - Lee Sharpe says do I not like the look of this - Wenger's new contract

Daily Mail - David Platt's tactical plan to beat Israel - That Rio Ferdinand interview once again - Bobby Charlton's England fears

Tags: Betfair's Top Dog, George Burley, Rio Ferdinand, Sir Bobby Charlton