LONDON - Where to start? In a week in which all the headlines should have been all about the football, theyve been about anythi

LONDON - Where to start? In a week in which all the headlines should have been all about the football, theyve been about anything but. Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Semi Frozen Yellow/Raw-Steel Red . As England close in on a World Cup-or-bust qualifying stretch the tabloids have dropped a lot of ink on off-field business. From Sundays terrace refrain: “Jack Wilshere smokes when he wants to,” to the Premier League on Wednesday rejecting the FAs plea to sit on a commission whose raison dêtre is purely to examine what can be done to mend the England national team the news was definitely hot for off-pitch storylines. Another such headline was Harry Redknapps claim yesterday that Steven Gerrard sent him a text congratulating him on his appointment as England manager. Good one ‘Arry. Great to see you havent lost that rogue sense of humour of yours since settling into life as a Championship manager. Again. For his part Gerrard was quick to deny today at Fridays pre-match presser that he did not send a text to Redknapps personal mobile phone regarding the England job. The England job, of course, is a position the media dearly wishes Redknapp had got when Fabio Capello took a walk last February. Their insatiable want, need and desire for Redknapp to take over was not correlated to the ex-Spurs manager being the most abled person to step into Fabios loafers. No one provides the media with softer sound bites than the man who can claim amongst his ex-team mates the greatest footballer ever to don an England shirt, Bobby Moore. Moore, best known as the only Englishman in World Cup history to hold aloft the Jules Rimet trophy was a team mate of Redknapp at West Ham in the late 1960s. Gerrard didnt, though, get into Redknapps baseless claim earlier in the week that ‘the FA are clueless. Sounds like the sourest of grapes. Its hard to imagine the reason Gerrard was speaking to the media in the first place was purely down to Friday evenings pivotal World Cup qualifier at Wembley against Montenegro. Who would have known? Which brings us back to that FA Commission, and one man who didnt turn down an approach to join was ex-England guvnor Glenn Hoddle. Hoddle guided England to the 1998 World Cup but his tenure came to an abrupt halt early the next year after he mocked the afflicted in a London Times newspaper article. Hoddle brazenly claiming disabled people were paying for their sins in previous lives. How unreservedly crude of him. This coming from a man who included a faith healer as part of his team to prepare England for France 1998 and for good measure followed that up with the 11th-hour removal of Paul Gascoigne as Hoddle completed his final culls to the original oversized squad. Yes Gascoigne was passed his prime, but is the most naturally gifted of footballers England has produced in generations. Dont believe me? Read Gazzas highly revealing autobiography where he bares his very troubled soul and freely admits to often drinking a bottle of vodka before going out on the pitch and dominate in his own inimitable style. Hoddle freshly minted to the FA commission wasted no time in laying into the current England squad when he told the BBC Thursday evening it was unrealistic to expect England to win the World Cup in Brazil next summer. You been reading them tea leaves again Glenn? How about qualifying first and foremeost? Not content with rubbishing the current team, Hoddle perfectly performed the 360 pirouette when he went on to claim England could well go on and claim the EURO 2016 crown… rib-tickling stuff. Obviosuly Hoddle has a fixation with France. Or maybe an Achilles heel. Speaking of national fixations Jack Wilshire could not have chosen a more inappropriate time than 48 hours ago when he discussed in-depth an absolute need for the England team to ooze Englishness. By Wilshires argument, players like Manchester Uniteds latest teenage sensation - the Belgian born Adnan Januzaj - could not ever play for England. Even though in a very short few years Januzaj could be considered for England when he hits that lower hanging football fruit; the FIFA residency mark. Since Wilsheres ill-timed and inappropriate comments grabbed the headlines and still continue to do so a siege-like mentality has prevailed over Team England. A plethora of so-called England legends, whatever they are, plus the current England manager and captain have voiced their backing directly or indirectly for the man who only last week was spotted smoking [or was it holding?] a cigarette whilst out enjoying a very late night on the London tiles. Meanwhile in a another highly affluent area of London - whilst speaking earlier today at this weeks Leaders in Football Conference which has been staged at Stamford Bridge - Joseph Barton laid it all bare. Barton doing what he does best, barking at the FA and Sir Alex Ferguson in equal measure. No one in world football shoots first, and aims afterwards more often than Barton. Lost in all the accusations and inappropriate comments this week was a quite splendid event held at Buckingham Palace and hosted by the FA President, Prince William himself. The celebrations were part of the FAs 150th anniversary which will culminate in a Gala dinner in London on the FAs birthday, October 26th. The plush Buck House gardens were transformed into the venue for a re-enactment of a 19th century football match. Never lost for a quip, “Wills” opened the proceedings with an ominous warning for the players. “If anyone breaks a window they can answer to her,” he stated as he nodded in the direction of the Queens personal Buckingham Palace quarters. The oranges at halftime have not ever seen such finer silver platters. When England step out at Wembley tomorrow against Montenegro, who held the English might to a draw in the corresponding fixture earlier in the campaign, nothing more than victory is required. Thats if they are to stand chance of winning a group the London bookies were reluctant to take bets on when the draw was made. With the final qualifier set for next Tuesday, England require the maximum points from both Wembley dates to automatically ensure Brazil 2014 is not a made-for-TV event. Quite remarkably with eight out of their 10 matches played, England have only managed to beat the twin forces that are San Marino and Moldova. Not so much pedigreed football playing nations as they are greedy tax havens. When Steven Gerrard leads his charges out of that iconic Wembley tunnel Friday night a nation will hold its collective breath. Only releasing it as they make a dash for the kettle or bark orders at the bar keep. The tea leaves and barley oats will be in an even higher demand next Tuesday when Poland come a-knocking. If you spot an England shirt on your travels over the coming days you may want to whisper the words: “Jan Tomaszewski and 1973”. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel Fake Yeezy 350 Citrin . As deep as their roster is, they need their superstar. Rose scored 23 points in his return from a five-game absence due to back pain, and Chicago hung on to beat the struggling Atlanta Hawks 90-79 on Monday. Yeezy 350 v2 Static Reflective Replica . With his father watching from the stands, Harrison homered, doubled, single and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the Pirates to a 8-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. http://www.yeezys350cheap.com/fake-yeezy-350-white-wholesale.html .com) - Devan Dubnyk stopped all 30 shots fired his way and made several big saves down the stretch for his third shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 on Tuesday.TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun have the latest on Brendan Shanahans new job in Toronto and its trickle-down effects, and the futures of Paul Maurice, George McPhee, and more. A day after Trevor Linden becomes president of hockey operation with the Canucks, Brendan Shanahan one-ups him and become president - period, it looks like - of the Maple Leafs. Why this title, and why this guy? Bob McKenzie: I think thats the critical thing. Brendan Shanahan was not prepared to leave the NHLs Player Safety department if he was just going to be the president of hockey operations for a club in the NHL. It was important for him to be the president of the whole organization - both the hockey side and the business side. Now, hes expected to officially resign his position with the NHL on Friday, and its expected that the Leafs will put out a simple press release announcing his appointment of the entire team. It wont be until the beginning of next week that Shanahan will be introduced to the media, once the regular season is over. What does this mean to GM Dave Nonis and head coach Randy Carlyle? Darren Dreger: Well its "to be determined", were not sure. Shanahan is going to require some time. Dave Nonis was hoping to have some time to review the organization, to speak with Randy Carlyle and ultimately assess what his role might be moving forward. Now, he has a new boss, so Brendan Shanahan is going to want to get to know Nonis a little bit better, find out what his thoughts are on whether or not a coaching change is required, but I dont expect that there will be anything will be done in the near future. How is player discipline going to be handled with Shanahan gone? Pierre LeBrun: Really, the guys that were working with him are going to continue to do just that. The War Room, the player safety group in New York, is a well-oiled machine. It starts with Damian Etchavaretta, Stephane Quintal, Patrick Burke, and Brian Leetch - those guys will continue to do their work. Bill Daly, the NHL deputy governor, I think will have a more involved role when it comes to the final word on possible suspensions over the next couple of months. I dont believe there will be a successor in place for Brendan Shanahan or even a search for his replacement until the off-season. Its business as usual and Daly will meet with the player safety group on Friday to talk about how theyre going to move forward. Is former NHL on TSN panelist Paul Maurice going back to Winnipeg, or is he goinng to rejoin us? Dreger: Well, the safe bet would be that Maurice stays with the Winnipeg Jets. Cheap Yeezy 350 V3. He likes Winnipeg, he loves the organization, and the team very much wants him back. There will be an negotiation that will take place at the conclusion of the regular season when he has a little bit more time to spend with his family who he has been away from for quite some time. There is also an assignment coming that Maurice is going to have to consider, and thats being an assistant coach or a coach with Team Canada at the World Championship. Its believed that Hockey Canada has reached out to Paul Maurice, you could see Pete DeBoer on that bench and Dave Tippett if the Phoenix Coyotes dont make the playoffs. There has been lots of speculation about the future of George McPhee in Washington. What happens there? LeBrun: We dont believe that the owner, Ted Leonsis, has actually tipped his hand at this point but we do know that McPhees deal is up at the end of the year. There have not been any talks about an extension. So the betting money, the whispers coming out of Washington, are that there is a better chance than not that there is a change at the GM position. But again, no final call there. Now what does that mean for Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin? He is a lightning rod for that team - 50-goal scorer but almost minus-50 as well. There have been some whispers out of the KHL in Russia that would they try...one of the clubs over there try to approach Ovechkin like they did with Ilya Kovalchuk a year ago, if not this summer then certainly over the next couple of years. Has the future of Carolinas management been decided? McKenzie: There have been several days of meetings with Peter Karmanos, the owner of the Hurricanes, and general manager Jim Rutherford, and the expectation is that in the not-too-distant future, maybe a week or two or three down the road after the season has ended, Rutherford will move upstairs to a position and Ron Francis will take over as general manager. And amid great expectation that Kirk Muller is a slam dunk to be fired, dont say that necessarily. There is still plenty of consideration going on to keeping Muller as the head coach. Dreger: And keep an eye on the Florida Panthers as well. Dale Tallon has to meet with ownership in early May to talk about the future, including Peter Horachek as head coach. It sounds like the Panthers might go to an experienced coach, and if Randy Carlyle were to get fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs, he would be high on the list. ' ' '