Venables writes a fantastic Zamora for England Article In todays Sun

[mrska]

Read it!!!

Compares Zamora's Premiership Record against Heskeys this season.. NO CONTEST!  And thats without EUROPE!!!

Nearly a full page.. worth a read!

[finnster01]

Excellent stuff Mr Ska. Here is the link:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2945826/Zam-deserves-England-chance.html

[mrska]

Nice1 Finnster..  i was hoping someone with greater tech knowledge would find the link!  Cheers!

[WhiteJC]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2945826/Zam-deserves-England-chance.html
Zam deserves England chance

HE has stepped up to the plate in the Premier League and excelled in Europe.
Now the time has come to see whether Bobby Zamora can make an impact at international level and gatecrash Fabio Capello's World Cup party.

Back in August the notion of 'Zamora for England' was absurd and appeared as likely as Fulham reaching the last four of a major European competition.

The striker joined from West Ham in a £6.3million combined deal with John Pantsil in July 2008 and hardly gave them an instant return on their investment as he managed just four goals last term.

The mumblings of discontent on the Hammersmith End might have been louder than the sound of Zamora's shot hitting the net and the opposition fans might have sung a cruel version of Dean Martin's That's Amore, that went 'When you're sat in row Z, and the ball hits your head, that's Zamora.'

But his work-rate and commitment could never be faulted. And those qualities have paid off as he has been a revelation this season.

Zamora has been instrumental in what is turning out to be one of the most astonishing campaigns in the club's history.

He has notched 19 goals this term - which is already three more than he managed in the last THREE seasons.

Eight of those have come in Fulham's epic Europa League adventure which has seen them breathe life into the revamped competition by toppling the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus and Wolfsburg on their nine-month run from the third qualifying round in July to this week's goalless semi-final first leg in Hamburg.

Zamora also netted in his team's prestigious jaw-dropping home wins over Liverpool and Manchester United.

He has transformed into a talisman by the Thames. The only chant that can be heard inside Craven Cottage these days is 'Bobby for England' - and I concur.

Time is running out before Capello names his provisional squad for the finals.

But I do not believe all the striking berths are filled yet. Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch are probably nailed on but that still leaves one or two more places up for grabs.

And Zamora warrants serious consideration and maybe a chance to show he is worthy of a seat on the plane to South Africa.

Capello's mantra has always been that he will only pick players who are on form and turning out regularly for their clubs.

Rival Emile Heskey has made 26 starts for Aston Villa in all competitions this season - bagging just five goals - while Zamora has made 45 starts in all competitions.

Heskey has won 57 caps and seven goals for his country and there is no doubt he links up well with Rooney - an attribute which rejuvenated his international career and has proved advantageous to England.


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But Zamora is the more nimble and looks as though he would be able complement Rooney.

The Fulham ace is also adept at playing on the shoulder of the last defender, which could enable Rooney to drop slightly deeper and bring others into play.

Zamora has shown he is more than capable of holding up the ball and bringing others into play. And he has discovered the knack this season of not only scoring goals but important goals.

I believe he is capable of doing the business for England but we will never know until he is given a try.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson and his coaching team of Ray Lewington and Mike Kelly have masterminded many shocks this season - but Zamora is surely the best of the lot.

He has gone from a striker who was much-maligned to one who can no longer be ignored. By opposition defences at home and on the Continent - or Capello.



Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2945826/Zam-deserves-England-chance.html#ixzz0m0QDL7LX

[Oakeshott]

Excellent piece and no more than the truth.