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England - World Cup flops or trophy hopefuls? This time tomorrow all will be revealed.

If the Three Lions fail to progress from Group C, arguably the weakest in the tournament, then quite simply it will be a disaster for English football.

And I fear that any disaster would be as a result of Fabio Capello's stubbornness.

Of course, there was always the need for a disciplinarian in the England camp after the overly-relaxed Sven Goran-Eriksson era, but that strict approach is in danger of getting in the way of what's right and wrong for the national team.

Capello's certainly not one to take criticism or any form of advice, as shown by the manner in which John Terry was forced to issue a grovelling apology following the defender's honest approach.

The well-decorated coach may have had multiple success elsewhere in football but it has never been guaranteed to follow him into every job he takes.

By sticking to this rigid, uncreative 4-4-2 formation, Capello is convincing himself that he and nobody else knows what's best for England. It's not working now and it's unlikely to work in time to save England's place in this World Cup.

England fans at home and in South Africa are crying out for more. More creativity, more goals, more passion, more enjoyment. I wonder how many would swap Sven's approach for Capello's iron fist ahead of the make-or-break match-up with Slovenia?

England talisman Wayne Rooney rocketed up even further in my estimations today.

This time it wasn't down to another moment of magic on the football field, but for his refreshing opinion on footballers receiving knighthoods.

For those who haven't heard the striker's views, the Manchester United star said: "No, I don't think about anything like that. Personally, playing football, I don't think you should become a Sir, to be honest. There are other people doing things in the world who deserve it a lot more."

Wayne, you're spot on son!

Soldiers putting themselves on the line every day for our country, nurses saving lives on a daily basis, teachers inspiring the next generation to achieve greatness - those are the people that deserve knighthoods.

No matter how much passion is involved in the sport, football is still just a game. Professional footballers are paid handsomely to play a sport that they, and millions of others, love.

Unless they continue to inspire others in different ways, such as charity work, long after they've hung up their boots, then they're not worthy of becoming a Sir.

WHEN it comes to the choppy waters of football finances, there isn't a ship more watertight than HMS West Midlands.

In the north-west, there are passengers aboard the great ship Manchester United frantically waving their green and yellow scarves as their owners steers them towards the huge iceberg that is debt.

In the north-east, there's a black and white-striped vessel heading back to the high seas, but with a looney Toon in charge that's still unsure whether to jump overboard.

Up in Scotland, two battered Glaswegian boats remain afloat, just.

Down in the capital, a Russian yacht decorated with a Chelsea crest sails along in calm waters but a storm is brewing in the distance, while the claret and blue cruise liner that is West Ham United was only averted from danger at the last minute by two cockney merchants after a series of crackpot captains had led it astray.

And, of course, down on the south-coast, everybody knows about the ferry that hit the rocks in Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth.

Pompey's punishment for entering administration, in the form of a point-less nine-point deduction, keeps the alarm bells ringing over this debt-ridden industry that we call British football.

The bandwagon behind Brand Robbie Savage shows no signs of slowing down.

Not content with helping to keep Derby County in the Championship (including a brief stint as goalkeeper), the former Birmingham City midfield's commitments appear to be growing by the day.

Daily Mirror columnist, BBC Radio Five Live summariser, occasional Match of the Day 2 pundit and now.........the 'face' of ACA Sports!!

Who?

ACA Sports - the retailer for Scottish giants Raith Rovers and Annan Athletic, Cricket Scotland and the Scottish Junior Football Association.

Just where will the Welshman's mighty empire stretch to next?

I paid my first visit to Leyton Orient's Brisbane Road ground yesterday to cover Walsall's League One clash in East London.

For those who haven't been, it's quite a unique set-up and not necessarily for footballing reasons.

While property developments are fast becoming part and parcel of new stadiums, they're usually kept completely separate to action on the pitch.

But that's not the case at Brisbane Road, where smart apartment blocks with pitch-facing balconies prop up all four corners of the ground.

From my high vantage point in the West Stand press bench, I could see several groups of people leaning over their balconies, allowing them a comfortable, birds-eye view of Orient's 2-0 victory. A colleague told me that during his previous trip to that part of the world, one group were even having a barbecue while watching the match.

Just like that old Carlsberg TV advert suggested, surely it's every football fan's dream?

I presume that tenants are effectively getting the price of a season ticket built into their rent, but it does throw up several questions.

Should a tenant fancy a few cans of beer while watching the match on a sunny day (it's their own space after all), then would football's stringent laws towards drinking alcohol while watching a game come in to play?

And, should Orient ever gain promotion to the Championship or even higher, would that result in a soar in property prices?

There was excitement in the air midway through last night's football action.

No, it wasn't because David Beckham was about to face an emotional introduction at Old Trafford, this was far more entertaining.

Robbie Savage had gone in goal for Derby against Reading. That's right, the former Birmingham City midfielder that everybody loves to hate had taken his place between the sticks.

Like Vinnie Jones and Geoff Horsfield before him, Savage (or should that be Save-age) had bravely volunteered himself to be the weak link with the gloves on. As soon as the Reading players saw his long blond hair taking its place in the six-yard box, they must have thought one thing - 'shoooooooot'.

It got me thinking, is there a more exciting moment in football than an outfield player putting in a stint as a goalkeeper? Yes, there is. It's a goalkeeper trying to impersonate an outfield player.

Nothing gets my pulse racing more than the sight of a goalkeeper striding forward in the dying seconds of a cup tie. There's a sudden sense of expectation from the crowd followed by a hilarious couple of seconds where an often-brightly coloured jersey bobs around in a crowded penalty area.

Such an act has had previous success - just ask Jimmy Glass, Paul Robinson or Peter Schmeichel.

And I'd like to see more of the same please. In fact, here's an idea for a stocking filler next Christmas - '100 best goalkeepers forward for corners moments'.

Be sure, to post some of your memories of this often overlooked aspect of the beautiful game below.

I can just imagine it.

Shaun Wright-Phillips is enjoying himself with a few of his pals at a birthday party, when some cheesy 80s pop kicks in through the speakers.

Suddenly, a look of sheer horror descends over Shaun's face, as he sees his dad, footballer-turned-presenter Ian Wright, leap to the floor and start flapping around with some embarrassing dad dancing (most probably in the manner of his Chicken Tonight adverts).

There's howls of laughter from his mates, and all poor Shaun can do is hope that the ground swallows him up.

Wright snr's latest outburst in defence of his talented son, is further proof that he's turning into the celebrity world's answer to an embarrassing dad.

On this occasion, the Arsenal legend has described Manchester City chiefs Garry Cook and Brian Marwood as being 'just a bit full of themselves' for treating Wright-Phillips 'like a youth-team player' over the England winger's Eastlands contract wrangle.

Previously, Wright took a very public dislike to former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson largely over the treatment his son received during the Swede's time in charge of the Three Lions.

Of course, Wright just has his son's interest at heart and is probably doing what any other father would do, only that he's in the public eye.

But Wright-Phillips is 28-years-old, he's made almost 300 Premier League appearances and has over 30 caps for England. Surely he's big enough to fight his own battles?

My spies have been out and one recently spotted an interesting meeting taking place in a gym in Solihull this week.

It was between ex-West Bromwich Albion manager and current under-pressure Celtic boss Tony Mowbray, who still has a house in the West Midlands, and injured Birmingham City striker Garry O'Connor.

The two know each other well from their days together at Hibernian, and O'Connor has made no secret of his admiration for Mowbray's management skills.

So is Mowbray offering O'Connor a route back to his native Scotland?

I'm afraid that my teasing headline may have misled you a little, as there appeared to be no top secret transfer talk taking place.

Instead, it was just a chance for stressed Mowbray to find some light relief by taking the mickey out of one of the many pieces of body art across O'Connor's tattoo-covered torso.

I was down at Bodymoor Heath yesterday afternoon to hear Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill cautiously welcome talk of a play-off for the Premier League's Champions League-qualifying fourth spot.

But in my opinion, the idea should be shelved.

While I appreciate that, in the same way as the play-off system in the Football League, it would add an extra spark of excitement to the end of season run-in, ultimately it may weaken the eventual prize.

The make-up of the Champions League has already been diluted down from the original European Cup model. The current title is deceptive, it's not the Champions League, it's the Champions, Runners-Up, Third-Place Hopefuls and Lucky Finishers in Fourth League.

I can just about stomach the fact that the current model isn't solely made up of literally the champions of Europe, as I suppose the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona will testify that it's a mighty fine, money-spinning competition.

However, I couldn't accept the possibility of the Premier League's seventh-placed side pitting itself against the continent's greatest. The Football League's play-offs have consistently proved that they very rarely reward the better placed team.

Without wishing to cause too much offence to the following clubs - Fulham, Blackburn, Bolton, Newcastle and Middlesbrough have all occupied seventh spot at the end of the last five Premier League seasons. Hardly a list of world-beaters, are they?

Most people would presume that the football fraternity stick together.

When even the harshest criticism rains down on this grossly over-paid profession, surely stars of the football field, both past and present, stick together?

Well one conversation overheard at the Hawthorns last night suggests otherwise.

John Salako, the ex-England international who only hung up his boots five years ago, was seem to be tutting and shaking his head while flicking through the pages of a national newspaper during the half-time break of West Brom's victory over Scunthorpe last night.

The story that had attracted Salako's disgust was that of Kieron Dyer costing cash-strapped West Ham £30 million over the course of his four-year, £70,000-a-week contract.

Salako, now a Sky Sports pundit, remarked: "If I had been on £70,000-a-week then you certainly wouldn't find me working at a cold West Brom on a Tuesday night."

Proof that even those fortunate enough to have graced the game in the Premier League era are unhappy (or could that be jealous) of the cash-mad direction English football has gone in.

*And another observation from the Hawthorns - Baggies fans appear to appreciate Super Kev Phillips' recent exploits against Wolves just as much as Blues fans.
Even though it was Roman Bednar who lit up last night's match with a sublime finish, it was Super Kev's name that rang out from the Smethwick End during the first-half.