So, how do we fix it?

[marbelladave]

As I see it we were so poor last night that we need major reconstruction. So.....

James in to steady the back 4 and give them confidence. Can't really believe I wrote that but it is the only option.

Dawson alongside Terry, at least he is fit and quicker than Carragher who is far too ponderous to be anything other than emergency back-up.

Three man midfield of Lampard, Barry and Milner, I just hope they are fit!

Gerrard and Rooney supporting Heskey.

James

Johnson - Dawson - Terry - Cole

Lampard - Barry - Milner

Rooney - Gerrard

Heskey

Only one 'new boy', Dawson to accommodate in an otherwise well established back 5, should help calm the nerves.

Three man midfield to cover the back line, particularly as Johnson and Cole will be required to get forward and provide the width. The midfield need to pick up the ball deep, 'look after' it and keep possession, no hopeful long balls (Mongball © Radovan Fox} forward. Bring the ball forward, slowly if necessary, until the front 3 can be hit with short 20yd passes. Rooney and Gerrard will make the runs, the openings will be there.

Playing Rooney and Gerrard off Heskey worked well in qualifying, all we are doing here is dispensing with any pretence that Gerrard makes any contribution when (supposedly) deployed on the left. Our fullbacks love getting forward so let them go, with a three man midfield to cover they have the freedom to really go for it.

Bit tough on Lennon who was far from our worst player last night, but he and Cole would be tactical options should the attack falter. Defoe, rather than Crouch, should be given the role of replacing Heskey when the big man runs out of steam.

[Zingari]

definitely not Milner

[Jordan]

definitely not Milner

Yeah. With Barry fit, do you really need Milner? Why not Joe Cole instead?

[Tilley]

Hart

Johnson Dawson Terry Cole

Lennon Lampard Barry Cole

Gerrard

Rooney

[Bryn]

The idea of going back to anything other than what worked in the qualifiers is just laughable.

Green

Johnson Upson Terry Cole

Lennon Lampard Barry Gerrard

Heskey Rooney

And tell Rooney to stop being a twat and to just stay up front.

And for the love of God, bring on Joe Cole and not SWP.

[marbelladave]

Yeah. With Barry fit, do you really need Milner? Why not Joe Cole instead?

Milner (not the Milner of last night obviously) will cover and support Cashley who will get forward a lot, leaving Joe Cole to play further forward should either Rooney or Gerrard misfire or need replacing.

Hart

Johnson Dawson Terry Cole

Lennon Lampard Barry Cole

Gerrard

Rooney

Pretty much the 'peoples choice', but I disagree.

I feel there is every chance that Hart will be our next first choice keeper but to bring him in at these point behind a somewhat jittery defence could be a big mistake, so for me it has to be James.

I still feel that Rooney is not ready to led the line in international football. It works well enough for United who usually dominate with the result that Rooney sees plenty of ball. Playing for England, this will not be the case, how long before his frustrations start to show, either in his play or his attitude?

The idea of going back to anything other than what worked in the qualifiers is just laughable.

Green

Johnson Upson Terry Cole

Lennon Lampard Barry Gerrard

Heskey Rooney

And tell Rooney to stop being a twat and to just stay up front.

And for the love of God, bring on Joe Cole and not SWP.

Actually my line up is strongly based on what worked in the qualifiers and is barely different to your selection...

Given that Gerrard will always come inside and play through the middle, your front 3 is the same as mine, only I am realistic enough to know that Gerrard will contribute nothing on the left flank so have compensated for this in midfield.

With our full backs released to get forward we should have enough width even without Lennon and both Johnson and Cashley produce better end product.

Upson is a reasonable shout but persevering with Green is not an option for me.

[Samilktray]

Hart

Johnson Dawson Terry Cole

Lennon Lampard Barry Cole

Gerrard

Rooney

This, except maybe James for Hart, purely due to his experience though.

We'd be alot more dangerous with Gerrard and Rooney up front.

[Mack]

Hart

Johnson Dawson Terry Cole

Lennon Lampard Barry Cole

Gerrard

Rooney

What he said.

Playing our main goal threat deep from a bloke who could'nt hit a cow's arse with a shovel is a joke. SWP on the left will never work either. Joe Cole must play.

[maddog]

James

Johnson Dawson Terry Cole

Lennon Lampard Cole

Gerrard

Rooney Heskey

[DJ Barry Hammond]

I'm sure Fabio's looking at this website for ID's, but potentially one of the most cunning plans is to do nothing, play the same starting 11, injuries permitting. Players like Green, Milner, Lampard, Carragher, and even to some extent Heskey, Rooney and Lennon all have something further to prove - and by naming the same team Capello shows his faith in them and hopes that in return that faith is rewarded.

The second half performance was not that bad, and had a few things been different it could have easily ended 4-1 and everyone jumping to the conclusion we are world beaters. 58% possesion, considering how much it was given away in the first half tells you how much the second half improved. Tim Howard winning man of the match tells you where the main action was. 9 attempts on target tells you that we're creating chances, we just need to finish them.

The other key question is how fit is Barry - does he need to be thrown straight in, against what will surely be a lot weaker oppositon, or do you bring him in gradually to ensure he is there when you need him later on in the tournament (assuming England progress)?

[Criggers]

Hart in goal. He's good enough.

So, Hart in goal, Dawson in for King, and Barry in for Lampard.

James will play if Capello wants someone to shout at the defence. I really think it would be stupid to put Green in again. He's done for. I say go with Hart, who has at least 3 world cups ahead of him including this one, could easily be 4 (he would be 35).

The other key question is how fit is Barry - does he need to be thrown straight in, against what will surely be a lot weaker oppositon, or do you bring him in gradually to ensure he is there when you need him later on in the tournament (assuming England progress)?

Do you not think that is exactly why he should play. If he plays Algeria that will be his first competitive game for 44 days. If we waited until a possible must win Slovenia game, it will 49 and then the 2nd round would be 53 days.

If Barry doesnt play against Algeria, then seriously, what was the fooking point in taking him Fabio? To keep King company?

Don't know what other peoples opinions are, but I thought Fabio was supposed to be the man, he's made a royal fook up of Englands world cup so far. If we played the Germans and both teams kept the form of the last game, we'd be likely seeing a reversal of that scoreline form 9 years ago.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

Do you not think that is exactly why he should play. If he plays Algeria that will be his first competitive game for 44 days. If we waited until a possible must win Slovenia game, it will 49 and then the 2nd round would be 53 days.

If Barry doesnt play against Algeria, then seriously, what was the fooking point in taking him Fabio? To keep King company?

I'm suggesting a start is not necessarly required, but an introduction from the bench later on, possibly for Gerrard who's aleady picked up a booking.

[Tilley]

Hart in goal. He's good enough.

So, Hart in goal, Dawson in for King, and Barry in for Lampard.

Hart is definitely good enough. James got relegated with Pompey and Green had a mediocre season in a poor West Ham side and after THAT mistake, he shouldn't be no where near the number one shirt. Hart is the form keeper, the fittest and probably the most confident, he should definitely be in goal for the Algeria game.

As for Barry in for Lampard, we'd all like to see it but we also know it will never happen. If fit, Gerrard, Lampard and Barry will ALL play, this leaves Capello with a problem. Gerrard on the left? Ineffective. Gerrard in the hole? He won't do it, he likes 4-4-2.

Mr. Capello has to make some massive decisions between now and Friday. Whichever one out of the three goalkeepers is playing needs to be told alot longer than two hours before the game. The keeper needs to get mentally ready for the match and the defence need to know who will be behing them, I do not agree with this announce the line-up two hours before kick off nonsense, I don't think it benefits anyone, infact I think it is bad mental preparation.

Do you not think that is exactly why he should play. If he plays Algeria that will be his first competitive game for 44 days. If we waited until a possible must win Slovenia game, it will 49 and then the 2nd round would be 53 days.

If Barry doesnt play against Algeria, then seriously, what was the fooking point in taking him Fabio? To keep King company?

Correct, if Barry is now fit, then he needs game time and after the way our midfield performed on Saturday night, Friday is the perfect opportunity.

I'd like to see Lennon - Gerrard - Barry - Cole if he wants 4-4-2, if not then Lennon - Lampard - Barry - Cole and Gerrard behind Rooney.

Joe Cole has to play.

[marbelladave]

Capello certainly has a lot to do and judging by the above posts everyone has a different idea of what that should be.

Defensively I would bring in James and Dawson. It's difficult for Green, if he is dropped England have to finish the competition with 2 keepers, there is no way back for him, but for me the experience of James is key. Hart might well be a better keeper, but a debut behind a shaky defense in a must win game is no way to bring him in. Play James or if you must give Green a chance to redeem himself, Hart's time will come soon enough.

In central defence I would choose Dawson to start, I know that is contrary to my arguments re the keeper but if James plays, Dawson comes into the first choice back 4 with an experienced keeper behind them. Furthermore Dawson plays on the right, Terry and Upson both prefer the left and I think this is crucial, Carragher though is just too slow.

Midfield is a mess, pure and simple. Gerrard and Lampard, two players who do the same job, effectively leaving us a man short. Barry can not yet be match fit, he needs to play, start him and sub him off when necessary (hopefully with the game won). Milner and SWP both made a complete bollox of the left side, as always Lennon flatters to deceive, and perhaps even worse our backup is Carrick and Joe Cole one in awful form and one not trusted by the manager!...

Up front the big question is whether Heskey or Rooney lead the line. I like the idea of Rooney up front, in fact I have been calling for this for at least a year, but I remain very wary off his temperament, he will not get the service he gets at his club and this will frustrate him. If he can control himself and keep playing his role the chances will come but my fear is that he will blow it.

I suggested my team earlier and am sticking to it, interesting to see if Capello will be so bullish...

[Joe.]

I don't actually think this game will be as easy as we all might think. From the evidence shown in their match against Slovenia they are a poor side who lack ideas going forward. They know they won't be able to match us in all areas, and as a result may be tempted to sit back and try and hit us on the break. We normally struggle against teams that do exactly this against us and it wouldn't surprise me to see both of them try it.

A few changes wouldn't go amiss, and most of them are inevitable. I'd personally have:

James

Johnson --- Terry --- Carragher --- A.Cole

Lennon --- Gerrard --- Barry --- J.Cole

Rooney --- Crouch

I've never been convinced by Green and Saturday's match has completely done it for me. Whilst James is prone to the odd error himself he's been reliable between the sticks for Portsmouth and I think his experience for us is important over Hart.

The midfield's an odd one. The wingers were largely ineffective on Saturday but should get more joy against an even weaker opposition - I'm confident Joe Cole will come in and put in a good performance. I certainly can't see how Wright-Phillips would be more likely to get in over him to be honest. I've banged on about Gerrard playing centrally forever so I'm not going to change my mind now. Barry holding = Gerrard freedom. I have a feeling he'll be pushed out left as usual however.

Crouch has to start for me here. Whilst I genuinely do like Heskey and think he was one of our better players on Saturday, Crouch has proved that his goal-scoring against 'lesser' sides is formidable.

[dandannieldanok]

Some people want just one up front!!.........it's bloody Algeria, stick 9 up front and just Terry back on his own. If we're positive we'll crucify these. For the record I'd play 4-4-2 but Johnson and A Cole practially playing as midfielders and Lennon and J Cole practically playing as wing forwards, so pretty much a 2-4-4. There is no way Algeria are going to show any adventure at all, we have to take the game to them.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

Some people want just one up front!!.........it's bloody Algeria, stick 9 up front and just Terry back on his own. If we're positive we'll crucify these. For the record I'd play 4-4-2 but Johnson and A Cole practially playing as midfielders and Lennon and J Cole practically playing as wing forwards, so pretty much a 2-4-4. There is no way Algeria are going to show any adventure at all, we have to take the game to them.

Algeria have to win if they have any hope of going through mind, and it would be a massive scalp. I can't see their coach beleiving they would keep a clean sheet if they sat back, so they may only have one option in that they have to attack in some form?

They may see Parguay's performance this afternoon and just decided to hump it long all the time and try and win the second balls - it was certainly effective against the Italian's.

[Criggers]

I just have to add to this topic about the keeper.

If we could select Shay Given, most people would instantly put him in the side.

Yet last season (according to Sky Sports News last night), Hart played 1 game more, had the same number of clean sheets (10), conceded exactly the same amount of goals, had a better shots to saves ratio and a better catch success rate (something daft like 98%).

Also, Crouch starting for me isn't a necessity. His scoring record is great, but on the other hand with the way Heskey played on Saturday to drop him would be a morale killer. Especially when these next two games are the perfect chance for Heskey himself to get on the score sheet. I joked on Saturday how great it would be for Heskey to win the golden boot, if he'd have bagged that one against USA, you might never have known . Please let Heskey play. I am worried though that it will in fact be Heskey that makes way for Barry, in a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation which Rooney was pretty successful in for Man U. That's also the reason I think Capello was after Scholes to go to SA.

[FoxyPV]

I just have to add to this topic about the keeper.

If we could select Shay Given, most people would instantly put him in the side.

Yet last season (according to Sky Sports News last night), Hart played 1 game more, had the same number of clean sheets (10), conceded exactly the same amount of goals, had a better shots to saves ratio and a better catch success rate (something daft like 98%).

Hart was behind one of the best defences in the PL though and that could definitely not be said for Given. Agree with the general sentiment though as Hart should have been in nets from the start.

[AyewJoking]

Capello's job to make sure Green isnt harbouring any confidence issues and also the players still trust him 100%.

Drop Lampard and play Barry as anchorman.

Start with Joe Cole.

Green

Johnson Terry Carragher Cole

Lennon Barry Gerrard Cole

Heskey Rooney

[dandannieldanok]

Also, Crouch starting for me isn't a necessity. His scoring record is great, but on the other hand with the way Heskey played on Saturday to drop him would be a morale killer. Especially when these next two games are the perfect chance for Heskey himself to get on the score sheet. I joked on Saturday how great it would be for Heskey to win the golden boot, if he'd have bagged that one against USA, you might never have known . Please let Heskey play. I am worried though that it will in fact be Heskey that makes way for Barry, in a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation which Rooney was pretty successful in for Man U. That's also the reason I think Capello was after Scholes to go to SA.

So you'd sack off our hopes of winning this World Cup for some sentimental desire for Heskey to score and to avoid poor morale? I'm sorry but how many chances does this guy want, if you not going to score you can't play. You win matches by putting the ball in the back of the net, not by doing half-decent work 40 yards from goal which is all Heskey is capable of it seems. If Capello had stuck to his word we wouldn't even be having this conversation because Heskey would be sat at home. Crouch and Defoe deserve an opportunity far more than this joker, who admitted for that one-on-one that he just hit it as hard as he could; didn't think that you might have to place it a bit Emile?..it is Tim Howard in goal not one of your children.

[martyn]

James

Johnson

Terry

Upson

Ash Cole

Lennon

Barry

Lampard

Joe Cole

Gerrard

Rooney

Wright-Phillips left behind in the hotel, Lampard to be told to buck his ideas up.

[Criggers]

So you'd sack off our hopes of winning this World Cup for some sentimental desire for Heskey to score and to avoid poor morale? I'm sorry but how many chances does this guy want, if you not going to score you can't play. If Capello had stuck to his word we wouldn't even be having this conversation because Heskey would be sat at home. Crouch and Defoe deserve an opportunity far more than this joker, who admitted for that one-on-one that he just hit it as hard as he could; didn't think that you might have to place it a bit Emile?..it is Tim Howard in goal not one of your children.

What I mean with the morale killer, is that he played well on Sat, one of our best players in my opinion. Crouch, while his record is proven against the lesser teams, isnt likely to bag a hat trick against any of the bigger teams so probably wouldnt be given a start anywaylater in later rounds. If Capello is going to play Heskey throughout the latter stages of the tournament then why drop him against Algeria? Play him, the positives outweigh the negatives to me. And IF he got a goal, it would be a massive bonus Besides, if we need to play Crouch to help us beat Algeria/Slovenia then god help us anyway.

Defoe is in no mans land and unfortunately always will be so long as Rooney is fit. Because Defoe and Rooney do not work that well and Rooney will not be dropped. If it was to be Rooney/Defoe though then it cries out even more for a 4-4-2 with Barry and Gerrard and without Lampard.

You win matches by putting the ball in the back of the net, not by doing half-decent work 40 yards from goal which is all Heskey is capable of it seems.

If Crouch did both so brilliantly then the rest of the world would be worried about him as well as Rooney. As it is there is a reason he is on the bench. If we are to utilise the talented midfield we have Heskey to me is a better option at providing an outlet. If Brazil had a 'Heskey' last night they would have ripped the Koreans apart, the same way that if Heskey morphed into Drogba (powerful and a finisher) we'd suddenly be a lot better to.

I don't think anyone who wants Crouch to play is going to agree to play Heskey on Friday, but we all know there should be enough goals in the side coming from elsewhere.

[FoxyPV]

Just ressurrect Alf Ramsey and the 1966 squad and you'll definitely win.

[marbelladave]

What I mean with the morale killer, is that he played well on Sat, one of our best players in my opinion. Crouch, while his record is proven against the lesser teams, isnt likely to bag a hat trick against any of the bigger teams so probably wouldnt be given a start anywaylater in later rounds. If Capello is going to play Heskey throughout the latter stages of the tournament then why drop him against Algeria? Play him, the positives outweigh the negatives to me. And IF he got a goal, it would be a massive bonus Besides, if we need to play Crouch to help us beat Algeria/Slovenia then god help us anyway.

Defoe is in no mans land and unfortunately always will be so long as Rooney is fit. Because Defoe and Rooney do not work that well and Rooney will not be dropped. If it was to be Rooney/Defoe though then it cries out even more for a 4-4-2 with Barry and Gerrard and without Lampard.

If Crouch did both so brilliantly then the rest of the world would be worried about him as well as Rooney. As it is there is a reason he is on the bench. If we are to utilise the talented midfield we have Heskey to me is a better option at providing an outlet. If Brazil had a 'Heskey' last night they would have ripped the Koreans apart, the same way that if Heskey morphed into Drogba (powerful and a finisher) we'd suddenly be a lot better to.

I don't think anyone who wants Crouch to play is going to agree to play Heskey on Friday, but we all know there should be enough goals in the side coming from elsewhere.

Heskey really troubled me on Saturday. He was involved alright, but given that virtually every forward ball played by England was hit to him, he was bound to be. He set up Gerrard beautifully, but for the rest of the game he produced very little.

No, I am troubled by his complete inability to even come close to performing his primary task. He is there to give Rooney space to play, it did not happen on Saturday, not even a bit. I can live with the fact that he hardly ever scores, if and only if, he makes Rooney play otherwise it is definitely time for Plan B.

Personally I can not see the point in starting Crouch, another big man who can't quite cut it at this level, so I am beginning to come around to the Gerrard / Rooney combination.

This pairing has its flaws but at least it will discourage the long ball and has the great advantage of getting Gerrard out of midfield where he is a complete liability.

Time for Don Fabio to really start earning his huge salary!