Chelsea high flyers

I really do believe in football’s ability to change lives and from previous blogs you will know of my work with the Charlton Athletic Community Trust.

I've also been very impressed with the CSR work Chelsea have been doing. The club may have become known for what they spend rather than what they give back over the past decade but I have been aware of their community, anti- racism and social inclusion work for some time.

Their key staff in this area, Shaun Gore who leads the club’s football in the community programme and Simon Taylor who is the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, are great people putting the club on the map as much as the superstars on the field of play.

An example of the way in which their work is being recognised in football circles was that the club picked up the Intermediate Level of the Kick It Out Equality Standard last week, just a few days after launching a talent search for an Asian footballer.

On another Chelsea connection, I met David Baddiel recently who is looking at making an advertising film to highlight the fact that the word 'yid' is a racially offensive term. I support David's work and will be getting involved. The use of this term has gone unchallenged for too long and often leads to overt anti-semitism. Abusive terms like this just don't have a place in football anymore, whatever the context and we need to educate people as to its meaning.

I am also an ambassador for and a big fan of the FARE network. It's their 10th anniversary this year, ten years of doing some great, challenging work. I'm looking forward to getting involved in the celebrations!

First there's a meeting in Budapest later this month to look at how the network operates that I will be attending, I'm an ambassador but I want to make sure I contribute as much as possible, not just as a figurehead.

Italian discipline working for England

England stuttered a little on Wednesday and made heavy weather against ordinary opposition. I think the level of expectation may have got to some of the players, resulting in a few nervy moments.

In amongst it all was another cap for David Beckham. With Bobby Moore’s record now beaten, he’s bearing down on Peter Shilton’s magic number of 125 appearances.

There have, however, been one or two dissenting voices, not least from Shilton himself. With Beckham coming on in the dying seconds of a handful of games the view is that many of the caps he’s recently won shouldn’t have been won at all,.

Certainly in Shilton’s era, caps were harder to come by. In modern football, squads boast much larger numbers, and some managers have been generous in awarding caps to players who might not have been in the reckoning in the past. I can see why he felt the need to comment.

Back to last night, and Capello continues to drive the team forward in his own assured way. And a key part of this is a disciplined approach. I experienced this first hand during my time as a player in Italy with Bari and Pisa.

There were no nicknames, cliques or in-jokes. We ate together, trained and travelled together. When we wanted to leave the table, we even had to make eye contact with the coaching staff to ask to be excused. I was only 23 but I enjoyed this kind of management.

My old club Chelsea go to the North East this weekend for one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the season. But the spotlight won’t be on Hiddink and his team. Alan Shearer’s return to Newcastle United as manager means all eyes will be on the home dugout.

It’s an interesting turn of events. He’s a wealthy man with a burgeoning media career. It will please many people, supporters and credible people in the game that he has come out of that zone. And it’s this that may have spurred him on to take the job. The managerial post at St James Park is far from comfortable.

Crucially, it appears he’s taken the job on his own terms. There’s a real sense that the team might go down which will have huge ramifications financially for the club. The chairman, Mike Ashley, is giving him sole responsibility to steer the club to safety. This might explain the departure from St James Park of my old teammate and friend, Dennis Wise.

Dennis is a capable football man. And he’s been instrumental in some of Newcastle’s successful signings this season. The circumstances were very unusual, with him being appointed director of football, particularly bearing in mind his credible managerial career. He was brought in because Mike Ashley wanted knowledgeable people to flank him during his first season as a Premier League chairman.

I think that what was always a tall order and became glaringly evident over time was the strange relationship between Wise and the fans. But ‘Wisey’ has a good pedigree in the game and he’ll be back. There’s a club out there for him, I’m sure of it. And with the ‘contain and counter’ game Chelsea are so good at it, the result tomorrow might not be what Shearer, or Ashley, were hoping for.

Capello's first experience of club vs country row

It is probably a reflection on the way in which Fabio Capello runs things in the England set-up that we haven’t had a club vs. country row for a while.

The latest, Ledley King’s inclusion in the squad for the friendly against Slovakia and the World Cup qualifier against Ukraine has caused some excitement partly because it involves Harry Redknapp, one of English football’s biggest personalities. But for me it’s a very sad story that involves one of the most talented footballers in England.

A fully fit Ledley King would be in any England starting line-up. His composure, temperament, leadership qualities and ball distribution would force him into most squads in European football.

But his injury record is chronic. Like a counterpart from my own playing days, Paul McGrath, Ledley is a player of talent whose injury problems are blighting his career.

King needs a week to fully recover from a game and doesn¹t train between matches.

Last year he only played four league games. He was also forced to pull out of contention for the World Cup squad in 2006. McGrath suffered similar bouts of bad luck when it came to injuries, again knee-related that, in all probability, curtailed a medal-laden career.

Harry Redknapp was naturally quick to make his displeasure known toward the England camp and many people sympathised. Fabio Capello, however, saw things through a different set of lenses.

He saw an in-form defender whose defensive solidity is crucial to his club, and whose partnership with Jonathan Woodgate continues to flourish. In fact, I feel they’re as good a pairing as Manchester United’s Ferdinand and Vidic.

Woodgate is another one susceptible to long-term injury problems and as a consequence he has missed a lot of football. We've never consistently witnessed them playing as a defensive pair over a period of games until now.

King’s withdrawal from the squad means we can look at the situation from both perspectives. The club v country question always needs compromise. The outcome of this particular episode will no doubt delight Spurs fans and disappoint some England fans.

As for the fixtures themselves, I’m going for victories for England.

They top the qualifying group and they’re also commanding respect for their performances.

I put this down largely to Capello’s increased level of communication with the players. You have heard it before but football is a simple game and it is crucial for a manager to be able to convey his thoughts and ideas to the players. Otherwise, they won’t know what’s expected of them.

Juande Ramos is an example of this. A good manager but one who perhaps couldn’t quite overcome the language barrier in England. Capello’s grasp of how best to communicate to his players through language and long held knowledge of what players need is working, which can surely only be a good thing for our World Cup hopes.

South Africa, Warsaw and Chelsea all top of the agenda

The dust has now settled on our recent trip to South Africa, and I and my fellow members of the Charlton Athletic Foundation Trust have got the chance to digest another successful trip. After seven years of visits, carefully laying out our template to help some of the country’s most troubled areas, no-one expected the project to run and run like it has done.

It’s been an unqualified success and we’re looking at the World Cup in 2010 as the point where we hand over the reins to the agencies on the ground in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg. The legacy we leave behind will be key and, after what we hope to be an amazing four weeks of football, the country should be energized into using the power of the game as a force for good.

UEFA conference to provide direction on discrimination

I’ve just got back from the ‘Unite Against Racism’ conference in the Polish city of Warsaw. This comes as part of my work with the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network, a pan-European organisation dedicated to combating discrimination in European football.

These events can help the cause hugely. One only has to look at the English game to see the mix of nationalities and backgrounds in the Premier League alone. This eclectic mix makes for excitement but small-minded groups will always rail against it.

UEFA, in my opinion, have always taken a firm stance against racism at every juncture and whatever form it comes in. They’re ‘the daddy’ and do great work.

The ‘Unite Against Racism’ conference gave players, policy makers and fans the chance to sit down and talk about some of the burning issues we face in a constructive manner. And it’s not rocket science either. Good people, strong leadership and a commitment to the cause is a simple but effective recipe for progression.

Guus banishes the blues at the Bridge

It’s been a busy few weeks at my old club Chelsea. First Scolari leaves in a blaze of publicity and confusion. Then, they land one of the most sought after coaches in the world.

I’ve always held Guus Hiddink in great regard. From his days at PSV to his exploits with South Korea at the 2002 World Cup, his CV is impeccable. In my experience, the arrival of a new manager usually gives the players and the fans a boost.

But when it’s someone with Hiddink’s credentials, it could completely kick start a faltering season. And if recent performances against Juventus and Aston Villa are anything to go by, there’s still life in the title chase yet, though I still think its Manchester United’s to lose.

Hiddink has managed to get inside the players’ heads and make them want to play again. Look at Drogba. A player of unquestionable talent but who’s been underperforming. Now he’s firing on all cylinders. And Chelsea’s season is all of a sudden back on track.

They’ll face a tough challenge in the semi-finals of the FA Cup against either Arsenal or Hull, but with Hiddink at the helm, I see no reason to bet against them making a return trip to Wembley in May.