Irish Blood, English Heart

Her name was Rio, and she's sitting in the stands.

Yes, I was born in Canada, but born and raised to be Irish, to feel British. I have supported England in every major tournament since I can remember. But my granddad always encouraged me to follow my own path, and my gran always loved things about England too, like the Queen or Harrod’s. Grandpa was all about motorsport and clearly, grandma was having anything to do with football. They were proud to be British, and it couldn’t help but rubbing off on me. So here I am, another World Cup and again wholeheartedly behind the country I have a pretty serious love affair with. For the record, I’m pretty sure Belfast knows about me andLondon, so its not exactly like I’m cheating. But let's keep that between us anyways.

Don Fabio after having one captain and one team to lead the team into the tournament, opted to change the captain and add some names to the mix just before we took off for South Africa just to spice things up. I’m pretty sure Mark Burnett had something to do with it.

So let’s take a look at my starting XI and the men keeping the bench and David Beckham from getting lonely.

 Joe Hart: he’s fearless and in good command of his box. And dare I use the "P" word when discussing England, this man has both saved and scored a penalty for his country.

 Jamie Carragher: Not as speedy and attack minded as Glen Johnson, but this man wants to win something. Oh, fancy coming near the England box? Be afraid, very afraid. This man will take you down. He takes attack to a whole new level. Go on Carra!

 Rio Ferdinand Michael Dawson: A better partner for JT than King, and Rio had been injured most of the season. Dawson could actually be the best partner for JT as he had a great season at Sp*rs. I would have taken him over King in the first place.

 John Terry: With or without the armband, we all know he’s still a leader on (and off) the pitch. Captain, Leader, Legend. Play on playa.

 Ashley Cole: Best left back in the world. Sorry Landycakes, you didn’t do a good enough job breaking him to protect USA! USA! USA!

 Gareth Barry: Hopefully fit for the first match. We’ll ignore the fact that he’s at Citeh (and looks like Skeletor) and focus on his great partnership with Frank Lampard throughout qualifying. Should be able to sweep up while Lamps can get forward. Yes, the inclusion of GB is actually all about Frank Lampard. ;)

 Steven Gerrard: Ok, now you’ve got the captaincy, do something with it. Seemed apathetic towards football while directing his passion towards djs who play good music and 16 year old girls. Stevie, look at the other team and just think how much they must hate Phil Collins and love girls over the age of 18, now use that rage. Su Su Sussudio.

 Frank Lampard: Highest scoring central midfielder in one season, only midfielder to put 4 in against a team (and has done it twice), third on Chelsea’s all time scoring list. Now vice captain of England. Come on Lamps.

 Joe Cole: The man we all wanted to make the team (and sign his Chelsea contract). Offers width and creativity. He should sign his Chelsea contract prove to be dangerous against any defense he comes up against.

 Wayne Rooney: Did not spend a month in Africa in January and win the golden boot. Hopefully he was saving those goals for his trip to Africa. Wayne, just keep your F#*(#*% $@&* together and don’t get yourself another (*^)#$@ red card.

 Peter Crouch: Let’s be honest, we all want to see the Robot.

 The Bench

 Calamity David James: Remember letting Drogba walk right into your goal because of a ‘divot’, yes? Don’t do that in South Africa.

 Robert Green: Should have been in previous tournaments and fully deserves to be here. May start againstUSA! USA! USA! over James as he’s a more mature keeper than Hart.

 Glen Johnson: More likely to start at right back than Carra. Anxious to get forward, forgets that he’s a defender.

 Ledley King: Also more likely to start but shouldn’t. The call for him in the previous two friendlies by theSp*rs supporters commentators was astounding.

 Matthew Upson: Captained West Ham to not being relegated. And could make it onto the pitch if our bionic man loses a limb or something.

 Stephen Warnock: Congratulations Stephen, Wayne Bridge is a giant baby.

 Michael Carrick: Don Fabio will start him if Gareth Barry doesn’t continue to bathe in placenta or whatever he’s doing right now.

 Aaron Lennon: Is a decent sub if he can play like he did at the start of the season. Must remember to pack his special razor so that the delicate balance of his eyebrows does not affect his play.

 James Milner: Definitely the man I’d start if Gareth Barry is not fit. He’s become a hot commodity since leaving the Toon. Solid midfielder who could make a fantastic impact.

 Shaun Wright-Phillips: An addition to prevent Ian Wright from whinging about it to anyone who’ll listen, and even those who don’t. Thank you Don Fabio for sparing us that.

 Jermaine Defoe: Third man to score 5 against a team in history. Let’s hope he didn’t waste all those goals on Wigan

 Emile Heskey: displaced Rio from the team in practice. An interesting start to your World Cup, Emile. At least we’ll all remember your performance.

 Honorable Mentions:

 David Beckham: Genius that Don Fabio still let’s the perfectly quaffed and tatted one come to make South Africa a little more beautiful offer his advice and experience to the team.

 Rio Ferdinand: Ironically, I began this before Heskey took him down and was going to lay into him for being injured most of the season and therefore possibly not match fit.

 Adam Johnson: A fantastic footballer that definitely should have made the final 23 and play for Chelsea. It could be Capello’s biggest error in judgment. Let’s hope the same mistake is not made for Euro.

 Theo Walcott: yes, he should be in the team before SWP. Yes, he had a great game against Barcelona. Yes, he’s speedy. But his finishing and even crossing has been suspect this season and would not have made my team ahead of Adam Johnson.

There you have it our World Cup team. The good, the bad and the Crouch. Most All club biases go out the window as I support my future home in a bid to win at the sport they invented. Its only a few sleeps away and I cannot wait! COME ON ENGLAND!!