Ashley Cole’s three month spell on the sidelines with injury could end up bring a blessing in disguise for the English national team.

Cole fractured his ankle during Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Everton on Wednesday night and despite the doom and gloom of the news, it could give the full back a chance to rest up before the World Cup.

Predictions suggest that Cole will be fit again around a month before England play their first game in South Africa. Needless to say that the talk of burn out and fatigue will come up at some point in the near future.

If Cole’s rehab goes to plan then he will be back and fit at just the right time for England but not for Chelsea. If Cole trains hard when he gets back and does all of the small things correctly then there is a good chance he will be in the starting eleven on June 22 against the United States.

The only problem, even if Cole gets fit again, is the fact that the Chelsea defender would not have played in a high paced competitive match for three months and probably will not feature in many late games that Chelsea have this season.

England manager, Fabio Capello, said: “It’s very bad news. It is very important that we have a left- sided defender who is good. It’s very important to us that he is back.”

If Cole does not make a full return to fitness in time to play a part for England in South Africa, then the only other option is one, which has emerged as less than perfect.

Manchester City’s Wayne Bridge is the only other player who could do a similar job to Ashley Cole. He plays in the same attacking way as Cole and probably has the edge in terms of being a better defender.

However, Cole would not have a problem playing next to John Terry in the England defence and it has obivously emerged that Bridge playign next to Terry would not be ideal.

So already the headaches have started and even though there is still a long time before England’s first game in South Africa, people are already talking about the World Cup. There is no doubt that England have a much better chance if Cole is fit and raring to go.

In a strange sense, Cole getting injured now is a lot better than Cole getting injured in two months time. There is a glimmer of hope and while there is that glimmer of hope, we should not all do the typically English thing and strart moaning and rubbishing the national team’s chances because of one player getting injured.

Ashley Cole will probably feel a bit lucky and even though this news is obviously bad, Cole will soon feel a determination to pay back on the luck if he does get fit and can play a part in helping England to World domination in June and July.

Michael Owen says he is not expecting a warm reception when Manchester United make the short trip to Anfield in only a few days time. Owen of course made his name at Liverpool but will probably be verbally abused every time he touches the ball for joining United.

The rivalry between United and Liverpool is probably the most intense in English football. The two clubs really do hate each other and United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, has often commented on how hostile the reaction is whenever he takes his club to go and play in Liverpool.

There will be some fans that will applaud Michael Owen and remember all of the good things that he did during his time at the club. However, there are some fans who will be too ignorant to bear this in mind and all they will see is the Manchester United badge on the shirt and the number 7 on his back.

Owen said: “I’d prefer people to sit down and recognise you for what you did for them and for the team in years gone by. But I’m pretty realistic as well and now that I’m playing for their arch rivals, I’m not holding my breath, put it that way. People talk about loyalty and for a football supporter that’s easy to preach about.”

“I’ve got to earn a living, provide for my family. I supported Everton as a kid, I never supported Real Madrid, but I played for them. It’s a job opportunity, like anyone else’s work. The longer you’re at a team, if the fans welcome you and the players take to you then you build an affinity. So now I look for Real Madrid results and Newcastle results, but it doesn’t make me any less loyal to Manchester United.”

A lot of people questioned whether Ferguson had lost the plot when he signed Owen from a depleted Newcastle United, but the point is that he seems to have found a new lease of life.

Fergie knows better than anyone else in the Premier League, the right way that Owen needs to be used and has to be used if he wants to extend and finish his career in the red of United. He probably thought he had struck gold when he knew that the Champions were interested, especially when you consider that the only other clubs that were in for him were Stoke and Hull City.

Owen may not start the game next Sunday but if he comes off the bench and scores in the same way he did during the Manchester derby, then he could finish his career the next day and United fans would already be calling him a legend.

Chelsea midfielder, Frank Lampard, has leapt to the defence of his England teammate, Joleon Lescott, after he was subjected to a booing from England fans in the recent friendly win over Slovenia.

Lescott recently moved to Manchester City in a high profile, big money move that has led a number of fans to say that Lescott effectively left Everton to go and play for bigger money, suggesting that the player does not wear his heart on his sleeve and is in effect a mercenary.

However, Lampard himself is no stranger to criticism and booing from his own Chelsea and England admirers and simply says that the criticism should make Lescott more determined and a better player.

The Chelsea star said: “Maybe people respected the fact I stepped up and took that penalty at a very difficult moment, particularly because it had been a funny period for me before then. Booing is part of modern culture. It is unfortunate but as players we have to take that as the way it is. I have had a little bit of it, Ashley has too, but the only benefit out of it is people will come out stronger. It makes you tougher.”

“I don’t know Joleon well but, from what I’ve seen, he’s tough. The timing of his move was unfortunate. He is just trying to forward his career in an upward direction but, because it was so prolonged, people make a lot of judgments. He has never shown me he is not putting in 100% effort and trying to do his best.”

The reason that a lot of fans seem to have a problem with Lescott is the fact that his former club, Everton, gave him a great opportunity to show his commitment to the side as they obviously did not want him to leave. Ashley Cole was subjected to similar booing and criticism when he joined Chelsea from London rivals Arsenal and says it is now just part of the game.

Cole added: “[Against Kazakhstan last summer] What was I thinking [at the time]? I want to go off. You just want a hole to open up and go in it.”

The players need to realise that they are at the very top of the sport they play in and the fans pay more money than ever before when they go to see a game. Therefore when they see a top player under performing or making a basic error, they feel as though they have a rigght to stand up and have a boo if it makes them feel better.

Lescott is professional enough to let it wash over him but it is something he may just have to endure for the rest of his career.

Arsenal can now move forward after their star striker, Robin Van Persie, signed a new contract with the club. There had been rumours that Van Persie was on his way out of Arsenal after he was said to be frustrated by the reluctance of Arsene Wenger to play him on a more regular basis.

Van Persie has reportedly signed a deal that could keep him at Arsenal until he is well into his 30s and he is now set to get a pay rise to the level of somewhere around £80,000 a week. This is good and positive news for Arsenal because it means they are keeping one of the club’s best players.

A lot has been said since the close of last season that Arsenal needed to make good a massive gulf in class between themselves and the best clubs in Europe. The only way they were going to do this is by firstly trying to get their best players to sign on at the club and commit their future to the cause.

Arsenal fans will be hoping that other players will follow suit but it is unlikely that Emanuel Adebayor will be sticking around for much longer if a bid from AC Milan does actually make the table. He has made no secret of his desire to stay at the North London club, unlike Van Persie, and will be hoping that a repeat of last year does not happen where he was forced to stay at Arsenal as a deal could not be concluded in time.

Van Persie said: “I have been at the club for five years now and there is a really great feeling at Arsenal. We have a top class manager, a squad full of superb young players and brilliant supporters.”

Van Persie joins Arsenal’s captain, Cesc Fabregas, in stating his intent on remaining at the club and trying to help them get back to an era when they were by far and away the best football side in Europe. Many Arsenal fans will still look back on the era when they were possibly the most feared side in the world and the news of Van Persie’s commitment means that are one step closer to re-achieving this.

What Arsenal now need to do is not conform to what they always do each season in the transfer window, sit on their heels. They have some very good players in the squad and the addition of Andrey Arshavin last January was a superb and clever signing. Arsenal need some big and high calibre players to come into the team.

It has been all too obvious in recent matches that they are missing players that can boss and dominate the midfield, allowing the more creative influences to bomb forward and wreak havoc in the opposition defence. No doubt Wenger probably has a long list of player targets that he is working on but he has to realise that his philosophy of blooding youth in the Premier League needs to be tampered with and helped along because at the moment it is not working.

The other danger for Arsenal is that if they do not act and act quickly then they stand to lose ground to a lot of other sides in the league next season. Manchester City are making huge strides under the leadership of Mark Hughes as they continue to assemble a hugely impressive squad, which on paper looks like it could push for a Champions League spot. This is all not to mention the number of talented managers there are in the Premier League, all trying to break into the top six. For example David Moyes at Everton and Martin O’Neill at Aston Villa will be doing every thing they can to try and take ground away from Arsenal.

So the question is, how long will it be until Wenger gets going and starts bringing in some players that the club has needed for a long time? The answer is unknown but it is something that he is going to have to do soon or Arsenal risk having their worst season in the Premier League since it began, next year.

Arsenal have a lot of young and hungry players that are all very grateful to be at the club they are. However, the point is that this will only take the club forwards to a set point and sooner or later they will be found out on a weekly basis. The news of Van Persie’s commitment should be a sign to the manager and the entire club that Arsenal need to act and show that they mean business.

On their day they are still the best football side to watch in Europe as the passing and play links up perfectly, but the point is that these days are not consistent enough to have any impact on a big competition. Until the right players are brought in, Arsenal will have no chance of making a good go of success. There are too many clubs at the moment better positioned than they are and if they have not realised this yet then there are some very naïve people running the football club.

There has never been a better time for Arsenal to lay out one or two markers of intent and they need to stop trying to buy players when they are in their teens and turning them into the next Thierry Henry, it is not going to happen. The time has come for Arsenal to get out the chequebook and sign three or four high calibre and experienced players.

If they do this then they stand a chance of actually hanging onto their top four place next season but if they do not and Wenger continues with his current vision, which clearly is not working, then Arsenal will slowly slip down the Premier League table and eradicate any immediate chance of knowing what it tastes like to lift a trophy again. It is a sad scenario but it is one that will happen.

Since the start of the Premier League in 1992 when the country’s leading sides broke away from the Football League, the lucrative television rights that feed the game have given today’s players a Millionaire lifestyle that’s the envy of those who pay to watch them ply their trade.

At the big clubs in particular, like Manchester United and Chelsea, players can expect to earn in excess of £100,000 per week and the glory they enjoy on the field of play is reflected in the trappings of success that they enjoy off of it.

Mansion-style homes, designer clothing, the fanciest restaurants and expensive cars have become the trademark of the modern football player. But for many of these well-rewarded young men the icing on the cake remains the beautiful girlfriend, and in a world where celebrity status seems to come so much easier than it did before, many of their chosen partners have famous lifestyles of their own.

Wifes of Football Players

Such is the status of these young ladies, the British media have even given them their own name – WAGS, an acronym of Wives and Girlfriends – and many are almost as recognisable as their famous sporting partners.

Although the WAG is a fairly new ingredient in the life of the modern footballer, the joining of celebrity footballer and celebrity partner has been around for years. Perhaps the earliest of note was the marriage of former England captain Billy Wright, who married Joy Beverley in 1958 at the height of her fame with ‘The Beverley Sisters’ – The ‘girl-band’ of their day.

Almost a whole half-century later, and the most famous celebrity couple in football just happen to be a former England captain and the wife he met while she was playing in a girl band of her own!

Victoria Beckham, wife of International footballing icon David Beckham, first met her husband after attending a match at Manchester United whilst at the height of her fame with The Spice Girls. Affectionately known as Posh Spice, Victoria has enjoyed much success in her own right including a solo pop career, modelling, her own fashion range and even her own range of perfumes and sunglasses. David continues to play football at the highest level, and his recent move to Milan has seen the couple become very-much part of the Italian social scene.

Most recently, Victoria has become the face of Armani lingerie and has modelled the range herself in a series of darkly seductive pictures with David by her side. The couple have three children. Brooklyn (10), Romeo (7) and Cruz (4) and are estimated to have a personal fortune of £112 million.

While England International Wayne Rooney was breaking records for become the youngest player to score for his club side, Everton, Coleen McLoughlin still at secondary school where her mother worked as a part-time cleaner. Since then, Coleen has become a major celebrity in her own right. She is a columnist for the world-renowned OK magazine, has presented several of her own television shows and is currently the face for LG electronics in a deal worth £500,000 a year.

Coleen caused a major controversy when she appeared in British ‘Vogue’ magazine with many in the fashion industry viewing her as unworthy of such an accolade. The magazine defended its decision with editor Alexandra Shulman labelling Coleen as ‘beautiful’ and having her own ‘brilliant sense of style.

Wayne and Coleen married in Portofino in 2008, and are expecting their first child in October.

Controversial starlet Abi Clancy continues to make headlines, and not just because of her long-term romance with the Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch. The former singer made the news for all the wrong reasons after being sent home in disgrace from the WAG group that followed their parters to the 2006 World Cup amidst allegations of cocaine use and cheating on Crouch.

The couple split for a short time, with Abi dating actor Jason Statham during 2007. The relationship was short-lived, and the former finalist in ‘Britain’s Next Top Model’ was soon back with Peter. This year, Abi beat off competition from a host of beauties to win the title of ‘Sexiest Wag’ in Zoo magazine. The couple are frequently photographed on the London nightclub circuit and appear to be going from strength to strength as a couple.

For many, however, the new Queen of the WAGS is the immensely likeable Cheryl Cole who found fame as a winning finalist in ‘Popstars – The Rivals’. Cheryl went on to form the hit pop group Girls Aloud and reached the summit of celebrity when she entered a relationship with Ashley Cole of Chelsea and England fame.

The couple have faced a host of personal problems since they married in 2006, particularly in the wake of revelations that Ashley was having affairs with three other women. The couple split for several months, but appear to have put their differences behind them. Cheryl now works as a judge on the British version of The X-Factor’ alongside Simon Cowell, and was voted as Heat magazine’s ‘Sexiest Female’ in 2008.

This year may see a new couple come to the fore as WAG culture continues to dominate the British headlines. Carly Zucker currently works as a fitness trainer in London, and has also carried out modelling work for an assortment of fitness and fashion magazines. She was also a contestant in British reality TV show ‘I’m a Celebrity – Get Me out of Here’ in 2008 where she the third contestant to be voted off the show.

Carly is married to Chelsea and England midfielder Joe Cole, and is the face of the new ‘Lynx’ campaign where she has appeared in TV commercials as a scantily-clad cavewoman. When the couple wed in June 2009, Carly appeared in the newspapers wearing a £10,000 wedding dress designed by Oscar de la Renta.

Perhaps the last word on WAG culture can be left with the late, great George Best who was as famous for his off-field antics with various young ladies as he was for his on-field heroics for Manchester United. In an interview about his fast-living lifestyle, George quipped “I spent a lot of money on booze, women and fast cars. I just squandered the rest!”.

Michael Owen is being lined up to join Manchester United. Although the club is refusing to comment on the speculation, it would be both the shock and the coup of the century. Of all the clubs touting for Owen, including Hull, Stoke, Everton and Aston Villa, Manchester United is probably the last place football would have been expecting him to land up. Rumours say Owen, 29, has already had tests on his knee and that he is about to undergo a full medical before the deal is finalised.

The scenario has been leaked to Sky Sports News which is a pretty reliable source for speculation which becomes a reality. Owen is out of contract with Newcastle United and failed to return for training with the Magpies. He struggled to find his form last season and spent a lot of time on the bench, despite his support for caretaker manager Alan Shearer whom, he believes, is the right man for the permanent job.

Owen’s career has also been hit by injury but Sir Alex Ferguson is said to be willing to take a chance on the striker. He is keen to bolster his attacking force following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. In his heyday, Owen would have been a worthy successor and could have brought some lightning speed, glamour and excitement to Manchester United. But though everyone suspects he can still regain his sparkle of yesteryear, it still seems a great shock that Sir Alex would put his faith in him.

In any event, is Manchester United the right club for Owen? Isn’t it a case of being thrown into the lions’ den? Football fans have been suggesting that Owen would be better off going to a club with lesser ambitions and become a big fish in a little sea rather than the other way round. Won’t he be swallowed up by the Manchester United machine?

Certainly, Owen would have to make a miraculous recovery back to top form if he is to play regular football with the Reds. The most likely outcome is that he will once again find himself on the touchlines, waiting for a chance and then not having enough time to grind back into action. A club like Hull would have been the perfect location or Aston Villa would have been an attractive proposition.

Owen is also laying himself right open to Liverpool fans who will absolutely detest him for going to their great rivals. Even the neutrals believe there are some lines you just don’t cross.

Manchester City are preparing a bid for Everton defender, Joleon Lescott, as Mark Hughes continues his quest to create the perfect squad. City will test the backbone of David Moyes with a tempting £15 million bid, an amount that Lescott is probably just about worth.

It is thought that Everton want around £18-£20 million for one of their best players as he has now become a regular in Fabio Capello’s England squads and is the bench mark of one of the best defensive teams outside of the back four. It would be a very shrewd signing on the part of City and Lescott could gel in well to their team with Richard Dunne, the current City captain.

With Roque Santa-Cruz and Gareth Barry already high profile names in through the door, it could be a matter of time before Lescott joins Carlos Tevez in making the City switch. The Eastlands club will offer Lescott a lucrative contract that would double the amount of money that he is currently earning for the Toffees and this would be a difficult offer for even the most resilient of individuals to turn down.

Lescott has built a fairly solid reputation during his time at Everton and has won many admirers for his attacking out look as well. He is often seen marching up for corners and free kicks and seems to have an added advantage as he scores a lot more goals than a normal defender would in any other side. What this does is it increases his appeal as a player and makes him a double-edged sword. If Everton ask for two or three more million pounds to make the deal even better as far as they concerned then City would be well advised to just pay it.

The danger is that many people would say that Lescott is a pretty average defender who can go and score a couple of goals, nothing more and nothing less. Therefore the amount of money that Everton are asking for him could be seen as a little more than good value, proving once again that sides are looking to take full advantage of the financial benefits that City obviously have in abundance.

Mark Hughes obviously has a very clever plan to try and assemble the best side that he can with players that are probably just beneath the bracket of being world class. What this will allow City to do is build up some consistency and challenge for a top six place next season. They may not be able to go that extra little bit as Robinho is still the only out and out brilliant player in the side, but the owners will be demanding some improvement and this is a squad that will deliver that.

If Tevez is added to the fold then besides from infuriating one half of Manchester, it will mean that City are brilliantly poised to have a crack at success next year. We would all love to be in Mark Hughes’ position with millions to spend but there is a pressure attached with this and he is doing well to get around this problem.