The Questions of England's Youth...

After the England U21's 0-0 draw with Ukraine, a few followers of the national side, as well as the media, may begin to ask several questions about what we call the next generation of England footballers. Here's my insight to what the answers to these may be...

Isn't it a bit like South Africa?

At times the performances of this U21 championship have been a little flat, lacked a bit of ambition and could easily be compared to the performances the full national team put out a year ago. Again, just like the full national team 12 months ago, we have had some backing from the fans and media that we may do ok in this competition. And after a great fightback in the first game to draw with an impressive Spanish side, things looked promising, especially because it seemed we didn't even hit top gear. But after the 0-0 with Ukraine, who now sit bottom of the group, only glimpses within the second half of the match did we look capable of scoring.

Are we good enough to progress in the competition?

Don't get me wrong, we are still probably one of the best sides in the tournament, but our team has to change. In terms of attitude, personel, and maybe even shape. Our back four has looked very strong so far, and new United recruit, Phil Jones has forged a great partnership Chris Smalling. It's a shame we didn't see Kyle Walker on the ball a lot during the second game, but defensively we haven't been troubled too much. However in midfield is where I think the majority of the changes need to occur in order for us to progress. Danny Rose for me isn't offering that much, and I think Scott Sinclair or Marc Albrighton would perform a lot better out on that wing. Jordan Henderson is a great prospect, however he's slowing the pace of the game down far too much. Against Ukraine we looked best going forward when we had tempo to our play and he was the one slowing it all down. Henri Lansbury has been rather promising both times he has come on and I think he needs to be given a chance, whether that be in midfield or off the striker, and I think Welbeck is overrated. He had a great chance when put through by Danny Sturridge, which he shinned wide, you need Sturridge in that striking role if we want to score. Change the system, and yes we'll progress.

So will these players be good enough for the national team in five or so years?

Hard to predict. A lot are very talented for their age and if they continue to get better then there is no reason why not. Whether they will reach the same kind of ability as the current crop is open to debate, however I'm not sure if anyone has the potential to be as good as Wayne Rooney in the current crop (though he's only 25!). We also need to remember that this side are missing Jack Wilshere, who already is a full England international at 19, as well as £35 million striker Andy Carroll, so there is talent already in place, so if the rest of them can get better the future may be safe!

One final point

I think it's wrong of me if I were to compare it to other national teams, but I'm impressed at how many of this U21 squad come from such illustrious clubs. All the starting line-up tonight were in the Premier League last season, with captain Michael Mancienne securing a move abroad this summer to German club Hamburg! I mean some of them, yes haven't played an awful lot of top flight football, the likes of Ryan Bertrand and Danny Rose spring to mind, but then you look at Chris Smalling who played a key role in filling the defensive void at Man Utd last year, and Daniel Sturridge who became Chelsea's best striker whilst on loan at Bolton at the back of the season. These players have what it takes to be top flight players for a lot of their careers, so as I have said previous, if they keep on improving (and moves to bigger clubs for the likes of Jordan Henderson and Phil Jones can only enhance improvement even more!) then we might see these players in England shirts for quite some time!

End Of Season, Start of Transfers...

So with now no club football on our television screens for the next two and a half months, why does it seem that this is one of the busiest times in football?

Amid the corruption claims that surround FIFA at the moment, and International football still ongoing, clubs across the continent are as busy as ever already building what might be a Championship winning side next season.

Stories such as the future of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas almost bore sports readers now, because what people want is new material, and whether he stays or goes, the formalities are all the same. The same could be said about Karim Benzema's future, who in the past seasons has been linked with moves to England, as well as Kaka, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Dani Alves.

However the saga behind Dimitar Berbatov is pretty fresh, and rather intriguing. Who would have thought the joint top scorer of the Premier League would be on his way a month ago? However the exclusion of the striker within the Champions League final squad has seen him linked with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and even Newcastle United.

The future's of West Ham players may be a big talking point, with Scott Parker and Demba Ba the most sought after players following their relegation to the Championship. However with Sam Allardyce now installed at the helm, maybe his wise words can persuade them to stay and win promotion. Parker's been heavily linked with North London clubs, Arsenal and Tottenham, and Ba seems to be the striker everyone wants with rumours linking him with Newcastle, Sunderland and Everton being talked about.

In terms of players being brought in from around the continent, Tottenham seem to be the club heavily linked with foreign players. After finishing outside the Champions League places, Harry Redknapp will need to strengthen. A lot of his squad have been linked with moves away, however, Spurs continue to be linked with centre midfielder Lassana Diarra, Espanyol's Pablo Osvaldo and recently, Gonzalo Higuain, though the legitimacy of these stories and debateable.

However what it does look like, is that the top flight again may be hard to predict. Manchester United will strengthen, despite winning another title. They have recently lost Paul Scholes to retirement so finding a suitable replacement will be a priority, as well as replacing the outgoing Berbatov. Chelsea will want to find a goalscorer, and it looks likely one of their current crop will have to be sacrificed. However their main issue at the moment is securing Guus Hiddink as full time gaffer. Manchester City will want to build on their FA Cup success with even more additions. With the almost infinite money they possess, they have been linked with almost everyone, from Wesley Sneijder to Gary Cahill. Arsene Wenger has be urged to change his transfer policy and so links to Benzema and Alex Oxlaide- Chamberlain keep appearing in gossip columns, and Liverpool's constant link with Aston Villa's Ashley Young keeps everyone guessing as we might be able to see a potent from line from The Reds next season.

Early betting prices are already predictable, but come a month or so, when signings have been made, it might be worth putting a cheeker £10 on someone who isn't the favourite because you never know with the Premier League, or at least go each way with an outsider because some of the prices you could get are pretty good.

Early Prices - Premier League winner 2011/2012 (02/06/2011)

Man Utd - 19/10 (Betfair)
Chelsea - 147/50 (Betfair)
Man City - 4/1 (Boylesports)
Arsenal - 15/2 (Victor Chandler)
Liverpool - 12/1 (Betfred)
Tottenham - 50/1 (Skybet)