Fosse Fox Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 I'm glad they missed it. I love you Glen. Showing Walcott how to attack the opposition defence. And who made himself available for the one two, made the pass and was hacked down for his trouble? Contrary to what Townsend and co would have us believe Walcott had a reasonable game.
Simi Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 First of all, I'll state the typical "I know it was only a friendly" line.. Ok, first half was unconvincing, Gerrard was ineffective from wide in my opinion. Defensively it seemed to be the same as usual, a couple of worrying balls went across the box and at times we were really sloppy in possession. Obviously it will improve, well hopefully, but it's still something that needs sharpening up. Walcott was his usual self, energetic and enthusiastic but it's the same old story for now. Not having an end product isn't getting him in the team, simple. Second half was much better, Gerrard had his say in the game and it helped us I thought. Lennon seemed to do more in 15 minutes than Walcott did for the whole of his time. Lennon just seems to be able to do more with the ball whilst playing a similar style. He is a clear starter for me. With his trickery and delivery which has improved, he's valuable to us. Both goalkeepers did there chances no harm, Green made a couple of world class saves and Hart's eagerness in his distribution was good to see. Definitely some places still up for grabs in my opinion, but we'll see. Finally, fair play to Mexico. Good side who will do ok at the World Cup in my opinion, probably the better side in the first half.
Joe. Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 Job done and all that, decent performance. A few points: 1. We'd struggle playing without either Heskey or Crouch when it comes down to it. Too many times we rely on a big man up top. Rooney - Defoe partnership has never really worked for me, even though it did produce one really good move in the second half. 2. Adam Johnson. What is the point in giving him six minutes? Bit of a piss-take if you ask me. You've got a player whose performed well in a strong Manchester City side since they signed him and has apparently looked very sharp in England training yet we still can't give him decent match time in a friendly. Capello knows what Walcott can do, why play him for so long without giving Johnson a chance? I'm not even joking when I say that players like him could be the difference in South Africa. I'll be genuinely annoyed if he doesn't start against Japan, even more so if he's not on that plane. 3. I don't think Baines did himself any favours tonight. Bit of a pathetic clearance off the line for their goal and got beaten on a few occassions by their winger. Disappointing really as I think he's deservedly got himself into this position, it'd be a shame to see him mess it up now. I just hope Capello uses this last friendly wisely. He's already said he pretty much knows who his final 23 are, which I suppose is a good omen if he's using players like Johnson that I want to see in an England shirt this tournament. Would be nice to see a virtual first team with a couple of nearly men in amongst to see how they fare. I'd like to see: Hart G. Johnson --- King --- Ferdinand --- A. Cole Lennon --- Lampard --- Gerrard --- A. Johnson Rooney --- Crouch/Heskey Wouldn't mind seeing Joe Cole given a half to see what he's made of these days too.
purpleronnie Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 Baines was awful 1st half better in the 2nd, king was poor but did score, gerrard carried on his poor form, crouch was lucky to score. One good thing was green, played great and hopefully will be number 1, Johnson goal was great and played pretty well throughout. Yes it wasn't out full squad, I just cant see us doing anything in the WC. But I have been wrong before, ok a few times. Can't believe capello played rooney for the whole 90. The idea of spain, brazil, argentina running at our defence is very scarey. I'm even more worried about the USA now. We're a good team, but theres NO WAY we'll come close to win the WC.
Simi Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 Crouch over Heskey and it's not even close. Nobody can argue with his record, he scores goals. People will say "well he's there to hold the ball up, not to score". This is tournament football and you need to have as many players on the pitch that are capable of scoring at once. Heskey just hasn't done enough for England as of late.
Samilktray Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 Baines was wank, never international quality. Johnson looks dangerous everytime I see him play. Ledley King was solid, prefer him to everyone else we've got in the middle of defence. And my arse was going like a rabbits mouth everytime a Mexico player challenged Rooney.
dandannieldanok Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 In non-England news, Portugal were held by the Cape Verde Islands at home, C Ronaldo played full 90 minutes. !!
Joe. Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 Crouch over Heskey and it's not even close. Nobody can argue with his record, he scores goals. People will say "well he's there to hold the ball up, not to score". This is tournament football and you need to have as many players on the pitch that are capable of scoring at once. Heskey just hasn't done enough for England as of late. I'd agree with that. Crouch for me can do everything that Heskey can, but he's more mobile and scores so many more goals. Crouch's role in the England side is massively understated if people wouldn't pick him in their starting lineup.
Koke Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 And who made himself available for the one two, made the pass and was hacked down for his trouble? Contrary to what Townsend and co would have us believe Walcott had a reasonable game. He had a woeful game. He is just an awful player with absolute no football brain. His one & only asset is pace and he can't even use that right. The guy should not be anywhere near the plane to South Africa. Walcott is living on that night in Zagreb and that mazy run at Anfield - that is all. He has done the square root of fuck all other than that. I hate how he gets picked for every England squad. Adam Johnson, Aaron Lennon and SWP are all better than Walcott.
Joe. Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 And I hope tonight has showed Capello why Gerrard should be played in the middle at all costs. We can go on about how desperate we are for Rooney this summer but for me Gerrard is still England's best player. To play him out wide is criminal, and totally takes away the key assets of his game. Massive player for us if we can get it right with him this World Cup, I'm praying we use him in the right way. One of the gripes I have with Capello unfortunately on this, but all will be forgiven if he plays it right in South Africa...
purpleronnie Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 What concerns and frustrates me more is the lack of passion england players show. You watch other teams and it looks like the players would give their lives to win a game it looks like 'some' of ours would rather spend the summer on a beach. This game gave the opportunity to so many players to be involved in the WC which should be one of the biggers honours in a footballers career, but yet very few seemed willing to fight.
Webbo Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 What concerns and frustrates me more is the lack of passion england players show. Nobody wants to get an injury in a friendly just before the world cup.
Guest ttfn Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 Just got back from Wembley... I thought Walcott had a good game. I agree about him not having a football brain entirely but he skinned the Mexican left back on a number of occasions. Lennon did ok but in my opinion was no better than Walcott when he came on. That said, I'd start with Lennon in a fortnight. I thought Rooney was very disappointing. I'm really concerned that Ferguson has temporarily fooked him up by playing him when he was clearly still injured, not even half fit. I don't see all this 'Gerrard has to play centre mid'. I thought even when played there he drifted in and out. Carrick was woeful. I really wanted Huddlestone to impress when he came on but the game passed him by. Glen Johnson was good - not only the goal but I thought he defended well Green made some good stops but I felt that Hart was always more in control, and was undoubtedly helped by Carragher coming on at centre back. The one thing that the game showed me is that WE NEED HESKEY. Time and again the move broke down when the ball came to Crouch, and whilst Defoe was lively in the second half, the ball kept coming back. Against the best technical sides (including Mexico) we need the ball to stick up top.
marbelladave Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 We were poor first half, but we rarely do much better in friendlies. Shape was awful, for once Capello's selection was way off the mark. At the back King and Ferdinand tried to do the same job, we looked more solid with King and Carragher, despite the latters very obvious limitations. Carrick could not find an England player with a forward pass and was otherwise pedestrian, Milner huffed and puffed but looked over anxious and Gerrard was, as usual, a complete waste of time on the left. Up front it took Rooney just 9 minutes to start waving his arms and moaning in frustration and just less than 14 to desert his strike partner and start chasing around in midfield. We 'bullied' the ball over the line twice, one of them illegally, and our defense gave the Mexicans 3 good opportunities and they scored from the most difficult. Plus points. Green and Johnson, no one else. Second half, the presence of Carragher actually improved our defence, that in itself is a measure of how poor we were first half. Milner on the left gave our midfield far better shape but Carrick and now Gerrard remained largely ineffective. Defoe's pace showed us exactly what is missing from Crouch's game but our attacks remained disjointed. Gerrard had one decent run as did Lennon but Rooney looked pretty disinterested. No idea why he was asked to play the full 90 minutes. Johnson's excellent strike finished off the game and although Mexico came back at us on occasion they rarely troubled Hart. Plus points. None really, just a slightly better team performance. Sum up, not good enough by a very long way, but then it was only a warm up so wtf...
DJ Barry Hammond Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 I am loving Milner at the moment, and feel we must get him in the side at all costs - he is the new David Platt! How that is achived with Lampard and Gerrard clearly demanding a place is difficult. Is there any way we can play a 3-6-1 like below, it would be different for sure... James (although Green impressed and I get the impression he will be given the nod) Ferdinand Terry King Barry Carrick Milner Lampard Gerrard Ashley Cole Rooney
Guest DavidJCW Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 Thought the game was a complete bore fest. However most international friendlies on ITV are. Can't stand the commentary, can't stand the below par football, can't stand the mediocre crowd who have nothing to cheer and have no real passion as it's completely unimportant and nothing like a club game... roll on the World Cup proper! At least then there might be SOMETHING of an atmosphere that makes the games more interesting...
Fosse Fox Posted 24 May 2010 Posted 24 May 2010 He had a woeful game. He is just an awful player with absolute no football brain. His one & only asset is pace and he can't even use that right. The guy should not be anywhere near the plane to South Africa. Walcott is living on that night in Zagreb and that mazy run at Anfield - that is all. He has done the square root of fuck all other than that. I hate how he gets picked for every England squad. Adam Johnson, Aaron Lennon and SWP are all better than Walcott. Strange then that the greatest connoisseur of football talent in the English game shelled out £5 - 12 million for a 16 year old sprinter. Strange, also, that he should be so highly regarded by the Gooners who have an embarrassment of riches to drool over. And strange that a technically aware national coach can see the attacking options that Walcott (rather than others) provides. Walcott's considerable technical abiltities are as widely unacknowledged as Rooney's visionary one touch game. Theo is a top scholar at the best football school in the English game. All of that is lost of course on the most illiterate footballing public in world football - England fandom. Walcott's greatest on field problems are referees who do not protect him from the thugs and enforcers of mid table Premier League sides who set out to 'do' him and 'make that other shoulder pop out' and ****witted England colleagues who refuse to support or play off him. Johnson only scored his magnificent goal tonight because of Walcott's intelligence and support.
marbelladave Posted 25 May 2010 Posted 25 May 2010 So, what did Capello learn from last nights game? A few things I reckon. Our backup keepers are ok, but if possible James needs to start. Johnson is not a great defender but is exceptional going forward, he has to play so work out how best to give him cover. King and Ferdinand should not ever play together in the same side. They both play the same way, so two players do one job leaving the opposition with a free man. Milner is not the man for center midfield, we are in trouble if Barry does not make it. Both he and the team looked much better when he was moved out to the left. Gerrard remains a liability when deployed on the left or in center midfield, give him a free role behind the striker or bench him. Carrick has gone backwards in the last year or two, leave him at home. Lennon and Walcott terrify defenders despite their obvious limitations, in a team otherwise devoid of pace at least one of them has to start. Crouch is not the man to head the line, makes you realise just how important Heskey is to the way England play, Rooney looked off the pace and disinterested, hopefully that will pass. So for me it is back to the usual suspects, I just hope Barry makes it as last night showed us how weak the options are. Just one last thing, sort out the left flank, Joe Cole anyone?
C-man Posted 25 May 2010 Posted 25 May 2010 Against Japan I'd like to see... Hart Johnson - King - Terry - A. Cole Lampard - Gerrard - Milner Lennon - Rooney - J. Cole Change in formation - no idea if it would work without a natural holding player but I guess we need to try something as a back-up plan? Don't necessarily need a holding player in there if they attack and defend as a trio. Although Green was decent last night I want to see more of Joe Hart. His energy and eagerness impressed me. Get Cashley back involved as I thought Baines was poor last night. Ferdinand and King clearly aren't a partnership so we should have a look at JT next to King. I like James Milner and think he definitely deserves a place somewhere in the side. Lennon offers more than Walcott in my opinion and Joe Cole has to go. Just think he can do something special for us.
Ric Flair Posted 25 May 2010 Posted 25 May 2010 Against Japan I'd like to see... Hart Johnson - King - Terry - A. Cole Lampard - Gerrard - Milner Lennon - Rooney - J. Cole Change in formation - no idea if it would work without a natural holding player but I guess we need to try something as a back-up plan? Don't necessarily need a holding player in there if they attack and defend as a trio. Although Green was decent last night I want to see more of Joe Hart. His energy and eagerness impressed me. Get Cashley back involved as I thought Baines was poor last night. Ferdinand and King clearly aren't a partnership so we should have a look at JT next to King. I like James Milner and think he definitely deserves a place somewhere in the side. Lennon offers more than Walcott in my opinion and Joe Cole has to go. Just think he can do something special for us. Bang on the money with that team, C-Man. It offers us everything from the squad of players we have. I have absolutely no faith whatsoever in any of our strikers other than Rooney in a high pressured encounter and the reason why is because of the less technical players around them becoming anxious and not playing to players like Crouch and Defoes strengths, that's why we must be sheer quality in midfield and defence. Rooney is a beast, he'll be on it for The World Cup. His time has come after what happened in 2006, his recent injury scares aren't anything to worry about. The lad has moved up 3 gears this season and plays on his own up top most of the time. Joe Cole is a big match player, especially for England. He has to be involved as much as possible for me. With Barry out injured, I can't see there being any point in Gerrard playing out left. Milner has had a superb season as has Lampard and both must play. I think all 3 can work well together, with Milner and Lampard playing more structured roles and Gerrard having the licence to join his horrible scouse beast. Our defence speaks for itself. We are often sloppy in friendlies, but when it comes to it our defence dont leak too many goals in big tournaments. Ashley Cole, Rio, Terry and Johnson. Carragher will be a valuable sub top bring on in any defensive position, i'm glad he's back. Goalkeeper, fook knows. I think all 3 are about on a par with one another right now.
purpleronnie Posted 25 May 2010 Posted 25 May 2010 Nobody wants to get an injury in a friendly just before the world cup. But some of them wont even go, you would think they'd go all out and risk injury. One highlight was the crackin atmsophere.
Uncle Albert Posted 25 May 2010 Posted 25 May 2010 Bang on the money with that team, C-Man. It offers us everything from the squad of players we have. I have absolutely no faith whatsoever in any of our strikers other than Rooney in a high pressured encounter and the reason why is because of the less technical players around them becoming anxious and not playing to players like Crouch and Defoes strengths, that's why we must be sheer quality in midfield and defence. Rooney is a beast, he'll be on it for The World Cup. His time has come after what happened in 2006, his recent injury scares aren't anything to worry about. The lad has moved up 3 gears this season and plays on his own up top most of the time. Joe Cole is a big match player, especially for England. He has to be involved as much as possible for me. With Barry out injured, I can't see there being any point in Gerrard playing out left. Milner has had a superb season as has Lampard and both must play. I think all 3 can work well together, with Milner and Lampard playing more structured roles and Gerrard having the licence to join his horrible scouse beast. Our defence speaks for itself. We are often sloppy in friendlies, but when it comes to it our defence dont leak too many goals in big tournaments. Ashley Cole, Rio, Terry and Johnson. Carragher will be a valuable sub top bring on in any defensive position, i'm glad he's back. Goalkeeper, fook knows. I think all 3 are about on a par with one another right now. Agree with all of that and C-Man's eleven for the Japan game on Sunday.
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