Perhaps the most celebrated player to wear the number nine shirt at a World Cup is former Manchester United midfielder Bobby Charlton. The midfielder was an integral part of Alf Ramsey’s 1966 World Cup-winning side, playing in all 6 of England’s matches scoring 3 goals along the way. Charlton remains England’s record goal scorer, with 49 goals in 106 appearances – including, of course, that thunderbolt strike against Mexico at the 1966 World Cup.

Nat Lofthouse’s record for England is probably less well-known than Charlton’s but, in some ways, no less impressive. The former Bolton Wanderers forward was England’s number nine for the 1954 World Cup finals in Switzerland and enjoyed a glittering international career in which he scored 30 goals in 33 games –a phenomenal record unlikely to be beaten.

Peter Crouch’s England teammate Wayne Rooney was the Three Lions number nine in Germany four years ago.  The United forward would probably be the first to admit that, after breaking a metatarsal shortly before the start of England’s World Cup campaign, he achieved less than expected in Germany – something he will no doubt be keen to put right this time around.

Having grabbed the winner in England’s group match against Trinidad and Tobago last time around, Crouch knows what it feels like to score at the World Cup. Footballers and football supporters are notoriously superstitious, but few would read much into the fact that England’s number nine has failed to score at the last two World Cups. With his prolific record and proven ability to get goals when it counts, not many would bet against Crouch adding to his impressive goal tally in South Africa.

An integral part of Alf Ramsey’s World Cup-winning side, hatrick-hero Geoff Hurst is perhaps the most famous England number ten. Hurst’s second goal in the final against West Germany forms part of English football fans’ collective consciousness. Hurst scored 24 times in 49 appearances for England and, remarkably, the World Cup Final was just his eighth cap. He is fondly remembered by England and West Ham fans for his industriousness and potent aerial ability.

Although not remembered for his heading, Gary Lineker cemented his place amongst England’s World Cup legends at the 1986 and 1990 finals. Lineker remains the Three Lions’ record World Cup goalscorer, with 10 goals in 12 finals appearances, including a remarkable – and vital – 37-minute hat-trick against Poland.

Although Hurst and Lineker were both prolific and potent strikers, they were not creative number tens in the same way as Bergkamp or Zola. In Wayne Rooney, England manager Fabio Capello has at his disposal a player more than happy to be either goal poacher or goal maker. The hard-working and earth-shaking forward was in fine form for Manchester United this season, scoring 34 goals in all competitions, despite suffering from several niggling injuries towards the end of the season. After Rooney failed to score in Germany wearing number nine and given the goalscoring tradition established by Hurst and Lineker, it could be a good omen that he has been handed the number ten shirt this time around.

’86 England v Poland, 3-0

England had to endure a torrid start in Mexico when Ray Wilkins picked a suspension and Bryan Robson a tournament-ending injury. They went into the final group game with Poland in need of a result and, having failed to score against Portugal and Morocco, it looked as though Bobby Robson might drop Everton striker Gary Lineker. But Robson stuck with Lineker, and the prolific marksman repaid this faith with a devastating first-half hat-trick. Lineker’s third goal after just 34 minutes sent England’s fans into raptures and they were roused into a spontaneous conga line in the sparsely populated stands in Monterrey.

’66 England v W Germany, 4-2

Famous for the iconic image of Bobby Moore lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy, Kenneth Wolstenholme’s classic commentary and Tofik Bakhramov’s controversial decision, the final at Wembley was a match which lived up to its billing. Goals from Martin Peters and Hurst helped England recover from going a goal down, but West Germans equalised in the dying minutes.  Cue extra-time and ‘that goal’. Having lost his marker with a neat turn, Geoff Hurst’s shot from the edge of the six-yard box bounced off the underside of the bar and was adjudged to have crossed the line. The West Ham striker went on to complete his hat-trick, sealing the Three Lions’ first ever World Cup triumph.

’54 England v Belgium, 4-4

The ’54 tournament in Switzerland remains the highest-scoring World Cup, with 140 goals scored in 26 matches. In the quarter-finals, hosts Switzerland took a 3-0 lead over Austria, but the Austrians recovered to win 7-5, and in the group stages, eventual winners West Germany were thrashed 8-3 by Hungary’s ‘Golden Team’, which boasted such legends as Ferenc Puskas and Sandor Kocsis. The Three Lions were left stunned when Belgium came back to draw after Nat Lofthouse and Ivor Broadis had helped England to an ostensibly unassailable 3-1 lead. An own goal from Portsmouth defender Jimmy Dickinson in the dying minutes levelled the scores at 4-4. England were unfortunately knocked out in the quarter finals by Uruguay, but the group match against Belgium remains the highest-scoring draw in World Cup history and one of number of astonishing matches in a tournament famous for great comebacks.

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England have beaten Croatia in their own back yard, four goals to one. It was an awesome performance with players like Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard running the midfield. The Croatian team have been somewhat of a bogey team for England and it sure felt good to lay that ghost to rest with a comprehensive four - one win.

Capello has targeted the strengths of England, the Premier League is the best league in the world and the pace of the games is quite incredible. For some reason previous England teams played a rather slow continental type game, why? It really makes no sense at all. The manager is now playing a pressing game and has the players laying their lives, as the saying goes, on the line for the team.

In previous years the English National Football Team has flattered to deceive and a lot of members of the press have been very critical of them. The negative reaction has been more to do with the apparent lack of effort and passion, it was if they did not care. This was just not acceptable and hopefully has changed for good.

If somehow the team are able to win the world cup the players will become instant heroes, heroes for life. Go for it England - believe in yourselves and bring the trophy home for our wonderful country.

Players like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Theo Walcott and Ashley Young will be the catalyst to victory in South Africa, I am convinced about it.

Everyone has heard of at least one famous sporting rivalry in history.There was Muhammad Ali duking it out with Joe Frazier, Greg Norman taking on Nick Faldo on the golf course and Chris Evert battling Martina Navratilova on the tennis court.  India and Pakistan still have a healthy cricket rivalry going on.Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov have even made competitive chess seem exciting with their ongoing rivalry through the years.

But can any of these admittedly classic face-offs hold a candle to the colossal confrontation that occurs whenever the Red Devils of Manchester United clash with the Liverpool Reds?Let’s have a quick look at why this great football rivalry exists, and why it continues

1. The Northwest Derby – Matchups between the two clubs are often referred to using this moniker.The cities of Manchester and Liverpool have been in competition since industrial times, and that sense of being rivals has permeated into the football world.

2. “The Greatest English Football Club” – Manchester United and Liverpool both lay claim to the title of The Greatest English Football Club.  A similar number of trophies have been won by each club, and they are also the two most successful English teams in European competition.

3. Fans and Money – The two clubs are widely-supported throughout the world and boast some of the most devoted fans in any sport.They are also ranked as two of the richest clubs in the world.

4.  Player Haters – As with a lot of football clubs, the fans can be downright hostile to each other sometimes.  With Liverpool and Man U, though, the hostility spills over to the players too occasionally.United striker Wayne Rooney has publicly mentioned that when he was growing up he hated Liverpool FC.Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, on the other hand, once told a television crew that even though he exchanges shirts regularly with opposing players, he would never have a Man U shirt in his house.

5. Transfers? What are Transfers? – No player has been directly transferred between the two clubs since 1964; the few footballers who have played for both clubs always played in a different city in between. As recently as 2007, United left-back Gabriel Heinze expressed a desire to move to Liverpool, and a bid was made, but Man U rejected the bid and stated that Heinze would only join a foreign club if he chose to leave – all due to the age old rivalry.

The way these clubs are so passionate about their long-standing rivalry is inspiring, in a way.  I suppose some people don’t understand and think the whole thing is just silly.So, which side is obviously the best club in football?It’s as clear as day, really.  Everyone knows it’s Spurs.

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