The Footy Mumble: Vieira's irony, Pep's 'Milan'

Vieira accuses England players

Patrick Vieira has accused England internationals of not being hungry enough to win.

He went on to add that the players lacked pride in playing for their country.

Ironic it seems that such a statement comes from the Frenchman.

Maybe England need to go the Man City way, Mr. Vieira? Paying them ridiculous amounts of money to motivate them into playing better seems the best way forward don’t you think?

Guardiola to Milan ? Redknapp for QPR?

If reports from Italy are to be believed, Pep Guardiola, who has been away in New York on a sabbatical, could be well on his way back to management.

And unsurprisingly,the Italian press believes the ex-Barca coach will choose A.C Milan over Manchester United and Chelsea, with whom he has been constantly linked to.

Hard to see the logic in this rumor, as Milan have neither money to spend or a good team or exciting youth academy prospects to develop, which will be the key attractions for Pep.

And coming to England, Harry Redknapp is also linked with a comeback to management, replacing Mark Hughes at QPR.

Mark Hughes’s days at Loftus is numbered it seems, with the British media going into a frenzy the last few days about his chances of survival.

It seems now that Hughes has time till Christmas to turn things around for QPR or face the firing squad.

Rooney to captain England

Wayne Rooney could be the man to lead England in their World Cup qualifier against San Marino, with Steven Gerrard out suspended and Frank Lampard fighting injury.

Lampard has been struggling with knee injury since the past week and while Ashley Cole would have been the expected successor, his recent outburst against the F.A has meant that the captain’s armband will go to Rooney instead.

Rooney has already expressed desire to be captain, saying earlier in the week that he wished to help groom England youngsters, a la Cantona at United.

Juve’s Conte faces longer ban

Juventus’s manager Antonio Conte, who was banned for 10 months for his role in the match-fixing scandal that has rocked Italian football, could be out for a few more months.

He will face a disciplinary committee after criticising the verdict against him, and claimed he was being made a scapegoat. He went on to claim that there was a judge who was biased against him.

Conte’s ban is scheduled to end on 8th December after the original sentence was reduced just last week.

Muamba for FIFA?

Fabrice Muamba could be set for a return to the footballing world, off the pitch however, with Sepp Blatter inviting him for a meeting in Zurich later this month to offer him an ambassadorial role.

Muamba had to retire from football after his heart attack on the pitch earlier this year.

Blatter wants to discuss with Muamba how long-term awareness can be created out of the incident, and wants the former Bolton midfielder to be the face of the campaign.