After a week of international football, league action gets back into full swing today but not before England had restored some pride for their fans, both home and away.

England got two good results in their opening matches, beating Bulgaria and Switzerland, as they began their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

The one setback was the Wayne Rooney situation but you have to take that all in stride and focus on what needs to be done on the pitch.

It didn't affect him, he was able to perform and score and in a sense it could have been a good thing for the team as they went out and gave a good account of themselves.

It is critical that you have proven goalscorers in your team and we saw that last week.

Jermaine Defoe was superb and Darren Bent finally got a chance to showcase his skills.

When you look at Bent, he has scored goals for hi sclub on a regular basis and deserved a chance that he is only just getting. He has been one of the league's leading goalscorers for a number of years now and it is a shame he missed out on the World Cup.

Now there's a good chance he can cement his place in the squad.

For players like Michael Owen, who has recently come out and said he hasn't given up on England and getting back in the side, it may be too late to come back into the fold.

He has had a wonderful career but now it may be a little too late and as long as Defoe and Bent are scoring I don't think he has a chance.

You also have Peter Crouch, Rooney and a few others who are pushing for places and Owen needs to be playing at Manchester United regularly, something he isn't doing.

France got out of their slump and it was always going to take time but with the quality that they have, there was no doubt that they would eventually bounce back.

Every country has a downturn, and it wasn't too long ago that they were the best country in the world, so it goes to show how the game is.

You can't be on top all your life and this is a wake-up call for the country and they will slowly come back into their own.

The match of the week was the friendly between Argentina and Spain and it was imperative that Argentina make a statement, especially in Buenos Aires. They did that with a 4-0 win over the world champions.

Not many countries go there and get a victory and it was a great result for the hosts which will keep the wolves away from the door.

Gerrard Houiller is going to become Aston Villa's new coach and that's a good thing for both parties. Villa have signed a coach whose record speaks for itself.

Turning to this weekend, my beloved West Ham are not looking good and will need all the help they can get when they play Chelsea who are in rampant form at the moment.

It won't be easy for West Ham, what we need to do is play in a professional manner and look to get anything we can out of the game

Being winless at this time of the year, so early on, is not a good position to be in so we need to start making inroads and getting results.

Another interesting match is United against Everton, a game that will see Rooney go home and face incredible scrutiny after his recent personal life issues, knowing he is from the area and left the club.

United have had a rough go of things with Everton and will surely be looking to right the wrongs in this match-up.

But Goodison Park is not an easy place to go and get a result and it will be an exciting game that might throw out many twists and turns.