I wasn't surprised to see the way the press reacted, and the way most English people reacted. They all seemed to think that the draw against USA means we have no chance and that it's all over. Why?
They didn't play as badly as people think. We had most of the possession, and for the majority of the match were doing all the attacking. Lampard and Gerrard did fine in the middle, though Lampard did go missing for a while (probably because he was the one holding) Gerrard led by example in the middle.
I thought our best player by a mile was Heskey. He gets a lot of stick but was the better forward. He held it up brilliantly, and hardly lost the ball at all. Next to him, Rooney is usually very good. He didn't get involved enough, and was being kicked at every chance by the centre back Onyewu, who was superb.
Johnson gave us a lot going forward, and defensively was sound. What happened to Green, well that just happens every now and then. That was of course, in all the headlines but I'm sure he will come back stronger from it. He did in the second half make one fantastic save, which no one seemed to notice. I wonder why? His interview after was good, I hope Capello sticks with him.The only negative that I thought came out of the game was one man who came on.. Jamie Carragher. He simply isn't good enough anymore. He's had a torrid season, has lost his pace and the composure on the ball he used to have. See when he got turned inside out by Altidore, that will keep happening. Without Ferdinand and King, it has to be Dawson for me. He has what it takes, even though he is uncapped.
So, keep the faith and get behind the boys. They are good enough to get further than we have in recent years. A draw in this game isn't all that bad. In fact, it's good we made some mistakes we can learn from and improve on.
And to those who entered the Prediction League, the table is up (not in the right order at the moment) on the WC Prediction League Page. For those who haven't predicted, you can do so tomorrow when I post the next week's fixtures.
Dont agree - Green is not up to the standard required for an England goalkeeper.
ReplyDeleteIf James is not fit then Joe Hart is the obvious choice. He is currently in the form of his life and unlike Green exudes confidence which is just what our defence needs at the moment.
I think England will progress from this very easy group; but I don't agree either. America were dire, and England only marginally better. There are worries about the goalie, the central defence, Lennon and Heskey.
ReplyDeleteEngland will have to improve to get into the quarter-finals.
I agree with Bloggerwolf. These ludicrous expectations can only lead to disappointment. Any dispassionate observer (like, say, Patrick Vieira on ITV) can see that Capello has instilled in this team the necessary discipline and self belief to progress to the knockout stage. After that, with the lottery that is penalties, it's less a matter of who is the best than who is the luckiest.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought they played quite well too. Especially Heskey. Rooney was fairly quiet til the last twenty minutes but he didn't half take a battering from the American defenders and he worked as hard as ever. Rob Green made one mistake (admittedly a shocker) in the whole match. If every player who ever made a mistake was dropped we'd have to change the entire team after each match!
ReplyDeletePeter, when you include Heskey in your list of worries are you saying you didn't think he played well? I'm not his biggest fan and, personally, wouldn't have had him in my squad in the first place but he was easily our best player on saturday night.
I agree about the expectations being too high on the English team. But I don't agree that Green did well. The save you are talking about was lucky and he nearly fumbled that one in the net aswell.
ReplyDeleteJames is the best goalie in England (when Murray not fit) and should be the nr 1 if fit. Serbia was a disappointment and if England goes through (and they will) and meet them in the next round they will win.
But England are not in the same class as Ivory Coast and Germany and probably not in the same class as Brazil and Spain. But they could make it to the last eight.
We surely gotta be as good as Ivory Coast!
ReplyDeleteSee them v. Portugal, boring. It's Sven, his style doesn't them.
England will make the semis, jsut you see.
Boring but safe, Merlin. And effective when Drogba is able to play from start An organiser as Sven is exactly what an African team like Ivory Coast need. Especially when they meet teams lika Portugal and Brazil.
ReplyDelete