South Africa (Reuters) – England’s most experienced and formerly established number one goalkeeper David James has sympathy for his widely-ridiculed friend Robert Green — but wants his place back in the team at his expense.
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James, 39, who has won 50 caps to Green’s 11, only discovered he was not being selected for Saturday’s opening Group C clash with the United States five minutes before the players boarded their bus to go to the stadium before the game.
But after digesting his disappointment, James sat on the bench and saw Green, 29, make a shocking schoolboy blunder when he failed to save Clint Dempsey’s tame shot as the United States leveled to claim a 1-1 draw.
England skipper Steven Gerrard had opening the scoring.
“I didn’t speak to Robert straight after the game because he had to go for a drugs test,” said James. “But I know that as a goalkeeper — and we all make a mistake like that sometime — you just have to put it behind you straight away and get on with the game.
COUNTER ATTACKED
“These things happen and he has to get over it. There is no time to dwell. It was one of those things and it changed the game because after that I thought the U.S. team shut up shop and only counter-attacked in the second half.”
James declined to say he expected to play, but showed clear disappointment even if he accepted manager Fabio Capello’s customary late decision to pick Green ahead of him and 23-year-old Joe Hart, widely regarded as England’s most talented goalkeeper for the future.
“When the manager announced the team, I would not say it was a surprise, but there were people hoping to play who were not picked,” said James, with a deliberation that hid his disappointment.
“Everyone wants to play and this environment — the way the manager likes to have things now — encourages an anticipation to play.
“It means that you don’t know who is playing or not, of course, so that means you don’t have two of the three goalkeepers knowing they are not going to play, as it was in the past.”
James confirmed he was fit to play and that rumors of a knee injury last week, when he trained in the gym, were not accurate. “I was fit, we all were,” he said. “All 23 of us.
“I am ready to play and, of course, I want to play. I have been around a while and this is not my first World Cup. But I know what it is like and I know what to expect.
“You come to the World Cup and you are disappointed to have the numbers 23 and then 12 on your back, but you have to work hard to play. As a professional, now, I have number one and I am still the man with number one even if I was not picked.
“So, like all the other players, when you know you are not playing you have to push to do everything right and not only help everyone else but push hard to get a game. That’s the same for me as anyone else.”
(Editing by Jon Bramley)
Radio Pakistan unhappy over criticism of Jaswant Singh book on Jinnah
Abohar, Sep.3 (ANI): The expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh has got a new fan in Punjabi Durbar programme of Radio Pakistan.
In its latest edition, the Punjabi Durbar programme has described all political parties of India be it Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress or Shiv Sena being anti-Pakistan for voicing objection to Jaswant Singh’s book- “Jinnah-India, Partition, Independence”.
In its recent Punjabi Durbar Programme, Radio Pakistan said that Jaswant Singh has paid a huge price for his biography of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
Many Indian scholars have expressed sympathy with Jaswant Singh, but have taken exception to Pakistan Radio describing all Indian political parties as anti-Pakistan.
Anil Kumar, a historian and a commentator on current affairs has stated that political parties in India have tried their best to cultivate good relations with Pakistan ever since independence.
“India has been maintaining friendly relationship with Pakistan since 1947. India parted with funds held by united India, when Jinnah demanded it. Even after Pakistani aggression in 1965 and 1971, India returned to Pakistan the territory which was in India’s possession in the hope that there would be cordial relations between the two countries,” he said.
“Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh have been continuously trying to maintain good relations with Pakistan, but Pakistan continued terrorist attacks in India,” Anil Kumar added.
“India is a secular country. There are more Muslims in India than the total population of Pakistan. Moslems are happy to be in India. Many feel that they are safer than in Pakistan, which is being subjected to violence by the Taliban,” said Anil kumar, who is, an expert on Indo-Pak affairs.
India is continuing talks at different levels despite incidents like Mumbai terror attacks and Pakistan’s ongoing support to militancy in Kashmir.
It is surprising that broadcasters of Radio Pakistan expect political parties in India to sing praise of Jinnah, who was chiefly responsible for the division of the sub-continent on the basis of religious identities.
They accept Jinnah’s contribution during the freedom struggle against the British Raj, but are critical of his role in dividing the country. (ANI)