Monday gossip

Mon 03 Oct 2011, 8:36AM
Posted by Peter Ferguson

Phew! International week is upon us once more, and the BBC have been quick off the marks to grab Gareth Barry for his take on England's showdown with Stefan Savic's Montenegro.





The poor lad barely had time to shower and scrape the Blackburn mud off his boots before the Beeb pounced, clearly knowing that Mr Dependable would be a must-have in Fabio Capello's squad.

So they lead the way with the traditional build-up to Friday's tie, the first of a long line of player interviews that will seem increasingly familiar long before the day of the game dawns.

Hey ho. Heeeeere's Gareth: "Gareth Barry is confident England will get a result in Montenegro on Friday - to ensure qualification for next year's European Championships.

"The teams drew 0-0 at Wembley last October but England will win Group G provided they do not lose. Fabio Capello's squad tops Group G with 17 points to Montenegro's 11.

"'We know it's going to be tough,' Barry said. 'They kept us out at Wembley and will be up for it in their home city. We go there confident.'

"Montenegro can win the group if they beat England at the City Stadium in in Podgoria, then go on to win in Switzerland on 11 October.

"That scenario would put England into second place and a two-legged play-off with a team from another group for a place in the finals in Poland and Ukraine next summer.

"'It's a massive game,' Barry conceded. 'When the fixtures came out we knew Montenegro away was going to be a tough fixture. We were hoping that the group would have been won by then. It hasn't worked out that way but it's in our own hands.'"



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Similar quotes will be available from most other England players. Just be patient ...





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Meanwhile, Sergio Aguero's early exit from the 4-0 win at Ewood has not affected his international plans, claim goal.com.

They report: "Striker Sergio Aguero has played down the severity of the injury, insisting that he will be joining up with the Argentina squad on Monday."

The source? Kun himself apparently. They re-tweet this tweet: "I am very happy because the doctor told me I have only a muscle bound! Tomorrow I come back to the national team!!"

David Platt said that it was nothing to worry about, although the Mail reports that he needs a scan and could be out for two to three weeks. It's not as if there are strikers to spare now ...

Speaking of which, sportsvibe.co.uk reckon that "Paris St Germain and Inter Milan are ready to offer Carlos Tevez a way out in the January transfer window but are not expected to bid more than £25m".

Not long to go until that old transfer window gets flung open once more. We can hardly wait ...