Are Umbro Picking The England Team?



The Mirror carries a strange story today. It seems someone at Umbro has received assurances that David 'Calamity' James will definitely be in England's World Cup Squad. Umbro supply the England team kit but they also sponsor David James individually, giving them a vested interest in where he spends next summer.

The Mirror quote Umbro's senior vice-president Martin Prothero as saying "We have been led to believe David James will be in the squad. David has had his critics but he's very experienced."

A series of typically erratic displays at Euro 2004 saw James permanently lose the England No.1 shirt to the more reliable Paul Robinson. His most recent high profile blunders came in the 4-1 friendly debacle against Denmark, after which James told the press he "hadn't prepared properly" and hadn't expected to play. Many England fans quite happily never expected James to play again.

This begs two questions: are Umbro picking the England team? And would they pick Owen Hargreaves? The answers are no and no. James' place as one of the three goalkeepers is more to do with a lack of quality competition between the posts than any murky corporate influence. And Owen Hargreaves is sponsored by Puma.

Source: The Mirror