Barry, 27, has made 325 appearances for Aston Villa and 18 for the English National Team.  He can play in the left and center of both defense and midfield.

Martin O'Neill has asked that Peter Crouch be included in the deal, though Liverpool could also be enticed to include on-loan keeper Scott Carson and defender John Arne Riise.

Villa reportedly rejected a previous £10m offer for Barry.

I can't see the former City man making the 23 (or even provisional 30) any time soon, especially with the likes of Paul Robinson, Ben Foster and Joe Hart waiting in the wings.

I can see the logic in including David James and Scott Carson in the squad, as James is the form ‘keeper in the Premier League at the moment and Carson's undoubtedly a talented stopper, but Chris Kirkland? Seriously, that's just crazy talk...

Full England squad to face France in Paris on 26^th March:

Goalkeepers: James (Portsmouth), Carson (Aston Villa), Kirkland (Wigan Athletic).

Defenders: Bridge (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Johnson (Portsmouth), Terry (Chelsea), Brown (Manchester United), Lescott (Everton), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Wheater (Middlesbrough), Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur), Upson (West Ham United).

Midfielders: Barry (Aston Villa), Young (Aston Villa), Bentley (Blackburn Rovers), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Lampard (Chelsea), Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), Beckham (LA Galaxy), Gerrard (Liverpool), Hargreaves (Manchester United), Downing (Middlesbrough), Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur).

Forwards: Walcott (Arsenal), Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Crouch (Liverpool), Rooney (Manchester United), Owen (Newcastle United), Defoe (Portmsouth).

In the newspaper business (and maybe even in Television, where I work, but I don't pay enough attention),they say "Don't bury the lead", so we'll start off with the juiciest of all the LFC stories.

As it seems, Tom Hicks Jr. (obvious son of Jackass) decided to stop by the famed Sandon, the famed pub that bleeds Liverpool red before and after matches, a bit after the 'Boro victory. According to reports, after taking pictures of the pub, Junior went inside (with security detail -- who, it's been said, warned him the pub visit was not a wise choice) because he "wanted to go for quite some time to see the birthplace of the club" and "also wanted the opportunity to have a direct talk with some of the supporters."

Son of the American owner in a bar where the diehards hang out. I wonder, how would he be received?

(a) Nobody is going to recognize an American in a two thousand dollar suit flanked by bodyguards.

(b) He would be greeted as a liberator.

(c) Is that dude still alive?

Not shockingly, the response, whilst not as bad as the last option, wasn't far off. Apparently, one fan quickly approached him to voice his discontent with the way the club was being run in an animated fashion. Well, the rest of the pub quickly took that idea and ran with it and started singing protest songs. I can only imagine that it took about a minute of that (with the occasional assumed nasty comments) to make Junior rethink his decision. Word is, he quickly pulled the plug after one patron showered him with his pint and another spit at him.

For his part, young Hicks also added:

I respect that some patrons have major disagreement with us, but that comes with the territory. I did have several constructive conversations in my short visit and look forward to following up with them next time I am in Liverpool.

If by 'following up with them', he means 'getting curb-stomped', my bet is that there probably are a few lads willing to set up an appointment, regardless of the fact that he's probably only guilty of being Son of Jackass.

Moving on...

El Nino is making all the right noises after his awesome effort, making his backing of Rafa quite evident:

You cannot score three goals in a game without the help of your manager and your team-mates so I would like to thank them. The manager signed me for Liverpool so I am really grateful for that, and he also works with me all the time trying to improve me and make me a better player. I think my game has already improved and will continue to improve under Rafa Benitez.

The most important thing is that the team is successful, that is the only thing that matters. If I score some goals that help us to win things then I will be very happy, but it is all about the team.

I came here to win things because I have never won anything as a senior player. I won medals when I was an under-16 and an under-19 player but that was a long time ago. Hopefully we will win something this season but if that does not happen then next season. I have signed a six-year contract so I am here for a long time and if things go well hopefully I will be here for even longer.

I have 21 goals this season and that pleases me because it is my best season yet but I am not thinking about scoring 30 because what makes me most happy is when the team wins, not when I score.

The Kop is such a special place and it means so much to everyone associated with Liverpool Football Club. The fans have been fantastic with me since I first came to the club and I would like to thank them because their support has been a big help.

 Speaking of Saturday's victory, here's four minutes of highlights, should you be so inclined.

In transfer talk, Brazilian fullback Rafinha has spoken on his being linked from Schalke to Anfield move this summer:

Liverpool is a top destination. If a move would suit Schalke as well as myself, we can discuss it.

A Brazilian for each side, eh?

Keeping with the ying and yang, when you talk about buying, you must also talk about selling (Can't you hear Rafa saying that last part?). Scott Carson, who's doing a fine job on loan at Villa, is getting a bit fussy about the clarity of his situation (or lack thereof):

I'd like to know what is happening because I've got my girlfriend and my son to think about. My son turned two last week and he's started going to nursery school so we need to get settled.

I've still got a contract with Liverpool and until someone does a deal with them, I can't do anything. It's not a done deal. Villa paid a loan fee for me until the end of the season and anytime from now until then, they could make it permanent.

I can't really say where I'd like to be because I'm still under contract at Liverpool and I don't know what is going to happen there. I like it at Villa and I want to get settled for next season.

There's not a lot I can do. I've got three years left at Liverpool and I don't know what Aston Villa are thinking. I don't know if there is anything else in the pipe-line. We will have to wait and see.

There's not a lot we can do. Except gripe about it. And then wait and see.

After surprisingly missing out on the England squad for last week's friendly with Switzerland, West Ham's Rob Green saw the funny side this weekend by donning gloves emblazoned with "England's No. 6". He denies that it was a dig at England boss Fabio Capello (incidentally watching Green for the first time) and explains that his glove manufacturer thought it would be funny. "If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? It is not having a go at anybody. It is not against anyone. If it is anyone, it is against myself", said Green (whufc.co.uk). Green's ocassional penalty heroics this season were not enough to stop a James McFadden spot kick in a 1-1 draw with Birmingham City.

Number 6 eh? Technically Green could be right. If he does not break into the squad soon time could see the recently axed Paul Robinson return to form, and also a return to fitness from Ben Foster, widely tipped as a future England number 1. Add in the 3 keepers from the recent squad - James, Carson and Kirkland - and Green could well find himself ignored for the forseeable future.

The final squad was announced on Saturday evening and perhaps understandably most of the attention and speculation has thus far centred on the fact that David Beckham won't be getting the opportunity to pick us his 100^th cap this time round, and on who will be Capello's captain - for what it's worth my vote would have gone to Steven Gerrard - but as a goalkeeper myself I'm much more interested in who will be his number one so that's what we're going to concentrate on here.

More...

With this in mind, as we digest the final 30 minutes of "Grand Slam Sunday", let's see if we can match the body parts with the players in FC's new England squad - starting with the goalkeepers.

Naturally we don't know who Fabio's going to pick, although it's safe to say we can rule Paolo Di Canio out on several counts. So we're going with Steve McClaren's final England squad on the grounds they can't all be dropped... can they?

If you've got suggestions Capello could use as nicknames for his England players, goalkeepers or otherwise, leave them in the comments. He'll be glad of the inspiration.

GOALKEEPERS

Paul "Wanky Foot" Robinson - Best remembered on the international scene for a minor incident involving his foot, a divot, a football, and some jubilant Croatians. Probably going to be Capello's first choice goalkeeper for the Switzerland game unless FC decides to be different for the sake of it.

David "Arse Licker "James - Always seemed far less reliable at international level than in the domestic game, where he's probably the most consistent English keeper in the Premier League. Alas, he may have been a little too hasty in kissing up to the new manager. Writing in The Guardian this weekend, here is the headline for his piece:

Absolutely Fabio: new man will sort players' heads
Fabio Capello will inject a much needed shot of psychological strength to the England team

Scott "Wobble Gloves" Carson - Will he ever play for England again? The Croatians, momentarily unsettled to discover Wanky Foot had been dropped, were soon happily back on track once Carson had scooped an innocuous, speculative effort into the back of his own net, scarcely minutes into his debut. Capello would be a brave man to pop Scott back in goal... ever. Sorry son. Everyone deserves a second chance, but... no.

We're sure Fabio will do much better, as can you. The comments are open. Keep it as clean as is humanly possible.

Duh, momen 1992 terulang, Inggris yang katanya tanah air sepakbola hanya bisa menonton EURO2008, Apa kata Dunia?™

Ah, Steve McClaren, kau seperti Peter Withe aja... sudahlah... next, siapa pengganti Mc-Leren ?

Berarti gagal juga peluang Beckham membela Arsenal? [Link]

Photo from goal.com

Also, am 2. Dezember ist die Gruppen-Auslosung, und dann können wir uns endgültig wieder auf die Liga konzentrieren.

Calamity James can't be trusted not to go into meltdown in the middle of a match. The reasonably reliable Robinson has seen a series of fumbles dent his confidence - only for the manager to offer support and succour by, er, dropping him. So, step up young Scott Carson. Here's the chance to make the number one jersey your own.

Yet within minutes the uber-confident England commentary squad are silenced by a hilarious goalkeeping blunder which Mark Lawrenson charitably described as: "More Frank Carson than Scott Carson." Ho, ho. Not like the legendarily tightwadded Liverpool man to be funny.

Then, as I blog, Carson is left marooned as a Croat waltzes round him in the rain. It's 2-0 with jammy England (who, let's face it, don't really deserve to be in contention at this stage anyway) looking ready to blow it, big time.

Beats me how such a talented team of indiviudals fail to create a team to live up the hype. It's now almost 20 minutes gone. If England can stage a comeback (and win) from here, then maybe, just maybe, they'll get a grudging version of the respect they generally feel is theirs to demand without ever working to earn it.

Even at this stage, I wouldn't put it past England's over rated and inflated stars to sneak a back door win thanks to a Russia no show. Yet still they'll be talked up as a team of world beaters and McLaren (who, in fairness is crap) will carry the can.

Wonder if Scott Carson will ever play for England again?

Duda, ademas de un buen futbolista, es aquella palabra que aparece en cada frase sobre Steve McLaren cada vez que hablamos de la selección de los tres leones durante esta tortuosa fase de clasificación. Dicho esto, el mister no podía decepcionar en los últimos minutos de este thriller de suspense y ha preparado un final de infarto. No estará muy seguro de si mismo y desde luego no puede pretender transmitir una sensación de paz al equipo cuando en el partido crucial de la clasificatoria manda al banquillo al portero titular para hacer debutar a un rookie sin apenas experiencia internacional. Por muy mal que haya atajado el 1 en los últimos encuentros no parece una jugada demasiado afortunada.

El caso es que ante Croacia jugará el joven portero del Villa Scott Carson (sólo ha disputado el amistoso ante Austria) en lugar del cuestionado Paul Robinson. Si Carson quería ser, como el gran Iznogud de Gosciny el Califa en lugar del Califa, aquí tiene su oportunidad. Lo malo de todo esto es que el propio McLaren ha admitido lo evidente, que esta es una decisión de gran riesgo. A gran riesgo yo añado que es temeraria y muy injusta para Robinson. En primer lugar es un claro en adelante no cuento contigo Robbo a la cara del meta del Tottenham en el peor momento para comunicárselo y en segundo término puede significar que Mclaren y Carson enfilen el camino del cementerio si los croatas consiguen meterles el agua en casa esta noche. En definitiva que a Mclaren no le gusta aquello de la gaseosa. A ver como sale.

<< A Steve McLaren le priva la horticultura

The Guardian, citing an anonymous source close to the England setup, is reporting that Steve McClaren will drop goalkeeper Paul Robinson in favor of Scott Carson for tomorrow's crucial qualifying match against Croatia.

The impetus for the change was apparently "a series of mistakes" in training, and had nothing to do with his palpably painful performances for both club and country the past 18 months.

Robinson is unfit mentally. He has lost all confidence whatsoever in his ability to make a correct judgement. He handles crosses with the aplomb of an acne covered 13 year-old trying to chat up a beautiful woman. He is, quite simply, playing merely not to make a mistake.

He is also unfit physically. He's fat. As John Nicholson once described, his knees have their own beer bellies. He looks more like someone who would unclog your toilet rather than a world class athlete.

He could also do with a little bit of work on his technique. Why does he do that pointless hop before he actually jumps after a ball?

The fact is that Carson has, for quite a while, been the best goalkeeper in England. He impressed on loan at Charlton last season and has been impressive so far this season with Aston Villa. England were not winning because of Robinson, but in spite of him. The move has made complete sense for quite some time and, with his back to the wall, McClaren has finally made the correct decision.

Better late than never.