2010 FIFA World Cup

[Moranis]

I only managed to catch the final half an hour of the game. Very disappointed to miss most of the match.

Anyways, just looking at the team selection now and it was a horror show from Capello. 7-8 years of evidence clearly finds that Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard cannot play alongside one another in the middle of the park without a defensive midfielder behind them who can win possession and link up the play and play with excellent discipline. They just can't do it.

So what does Capello do? He plays James Milner. Bloody idiot. Milner's best talents are going forward. He is an attacking midfielder. He does not bring the necessary skills to the table. The one alteration changes the whole balance of the team and left England in a terrible position.

If Capello continues to go forward with this plan, England simply have no hope of winning the World Cup which is a shame because I think they're the best or the second best (Spain?) team in the tournament.

You really think England is the 2nd best team.  They have disarray at goal tending (and have for awhile) and they really have weaknesses in the midfield region.  They may very well have the best offense in the world, but futbol like hockey is won with goaltending and defense and England is no where near the top in either of those categories. 

[MBz]

I only managed to catch the final half an hour of the game. Very disappointed to miss most of the match.

Anyways, just looking at the team selection now and it was a horror show from Capello. 7-8 years of evidence clearly finds that Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard cannot play alongside one another in the middle of the park without a defensive midfielder behind them who can win possession and link up the play and play with excellent discipline. They just can't do it.

So what does Capello do? He plays James Milner. Bloody idiot. Milner's best talents are going forward. He is an attacking midfielder. He does not bring the necessary skills to the table. The one alteration changes the whole balance of the team and left England in a terrible position.

If Capello continues to go forward with this plan, England simply have no hope of winning the World Cup which is a shame because I think they're the best or the second best (Spain?) team in the tournament.

You really think England is the 2nd best team.  They have disarray at goal tending (and have for awhile) and they really have weaknesses in the midfield region.  They may very well have the best offense in the world, but futbol like hockey is won with goaltending and defense and England is no where near the top in either of those categories. 

I agree, I think they are one of the more over-rated teams in the tournament.  I don't see them being a team to really contend.

[Who]

I'm also disappointed to see Green in goal instead of David James who is clearly the superior player.

David James is 39 after an awful year in the worst team in the EPL. He's the worst of all 3. Even in his peak he was mediocre.

Joe Hart had a very good season at Birmingham and maybe the only reason why Capello didn't pick him is his age. I think he will start in the next game.

I thought David James played very well for Portsmouth this season. Joe Hart was very good too, I like him also.

I'd rather go with James over Hart though mainly because of his experience and chemistry with John Terry and the rest of the back four. Overall, I think they are fairly similar talent wise with Hart being the better shot-stopper and James the better communicator. I'd be a bit nervous about Hart's lack of experience in pressure moments and big games.

Anyway, either one is a big improvement over Green who doesn't have a leg to stand on at this level. Foster should have been selected over Green.

[Who]

I only managed to catch the final half an hour of the game. Very disappointed to miss most of the match.

Anyways, just looking at the team selection now and it was a horror show from Capello. 7-8 years of evidence clearly finds that Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard cannot play alongside one another in the middle of the park without a defensive midfielder behind them who can win possession and link up the play and play with excellent discipline. They just can't do it.

So what does Capello do? He plays James Milner. Bloody idiot. Milner's best talents are going forward. He is an attacking midfielder. He does not bring the necessary skills to the table. The one alteration changes the whole balance of the team and left England in a terrible position.

If Capello continues to go forward with this plan, England simply have no hope of winning the World Cup which is a shame because I think they're the best or the second best (Spain?) team in the tournament.

You really think England is the 2nd best team.  They have disarray at goal tending (and have for awhile) and they really have weaknesses in the midfield region.  They may very well have the best offense in the world, but futbol like hockey is won with goaltending and defense and England is no where near the top in either of those categories. 

England have an excellent midfield and an very good-to-excellent backline (a little weak at RB). England do have a poor set of goalkeepers though. 

They are a very solid team with a tough spine through the middle of the pitch.

[misha]

I'm also disappointed to see Green in goal instead of David James who is clearly the superior player.

David James is 39 after an awful year in the worst team in the EPL. He's the worst of all 3. Even in his peak he was mediocre.

Joe Hart had a very good season at Birmingham and maybe the only reason why Capello didn't pick him is his age. I think he will start in the next game.

I thought David James played very well for Portsmouth this season. Joe Hart was very good too, I like him also.

I'd rather go with James over Hart though mainly because of his experience and chemistry with John Terry and the rest of the back four. Overall, I think they are fairly similar talent wise with Hart being the better shot-stopper and James the better communicator. I'd be a bit nervous about Hart's lack of experience in pressure moments and big games.

Anyway, either one is a big improvement over Green who doesn't have a leg to stand on at this level. Foster should have been selected over Green.

What chemistry with Terry? He didn't play in an official game for England for about 13 month. You rate James too high. He's inconsistent and prone for too many mistakes. That's the story of his whole career. And now, when he's almost 40, he lost some athleticism and had injury problems in the last season. Here is his 'best' England moments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmYtqPE3Lis&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjIwUsiV5iE&feature=player_embedded

[ederson]

All 3 are average and inconsistent. Anyone of them could have easily done the same mistake.

Cappelo was supposed to have found a way to use both Lampard and Gerrard. I didn`t see it. In fact i didn`t see anything different than the previous english teams. I expected more. AND PLEASE LET ROONEY PLAY UP FRONT

I have to give credit to USA. They were prepared in the best possible way , knew how to block Rooney (Cappelo`s decisions helped a bit) had a game plan and sticked to it the whole game. They were very consentrated , kept their positions and didn`t panic after the goal.

[pbak63]

English fans point of view here.

I certainly don't see England being as strong as Argentina, Brazil or Spain.

I would have picked James or Hart in goal. James has had injuries this season and has made numerous errors in his career (I saw his debut for Watford back in 1990
so have lots of experience), but he's still better than Green.
Foster is a class keeper, but he's lost form and has left Man Utd for Birmingham in an attempt to kick start his career.

For various reasons, the Lampard / Gerrard partnership doesn't work in central midfield. Joe Cole has lots of skill but though he's difficult to play against because he is unpredictable, that also makes him difficult to play with as his teammates also don't know what he's going to do next.

Rooney was playing up front against the USA, but with Heskey as a partner.
Heskey is one of the worst players in the history of the game and the vast majority of football fans in this country would not disagree with me.

He couldn't finish a newspaper.

I did predict a 1 -1 draw but think both England and USA will qualify from the group.

Unless Capello gets lucky, he'll get no further than the quarter finals.

My money is on Spain.

[celticmaestro]

I think the US played England at the best possible time. England will bounce back strong I expect and will demolish Algeria and Slovenia. They won't get far though. They're the classic "we'll build you up just to let you down" sports team and the media in England don't help the cause.

Capello made some terrible decisions. Rob Green is the worst of the GK's he brought, Milner was the wrong choice from the beginning (Joe Cole is England's most creative player and it should have been him) and Heskey -- let me tell you a joke that sums him up: "if you are running away from Emile Heskey, disguised yourself as a goal, that way he won't catch you" -- should have been Carrick leaving Rooney on his own up top like he is at United.

Truth is, England are vastly overrated. Rooney is a genuine world class talent. The rest is all debatable. The mentality is messed up, the pressure is enormous and the expectancy is unrealistic. The US team is a very good team that could surprise a few people. Just so long as they get Altidore out of there. He makes Heskey look prolific in front of goal.

[ederson]

The org. committee will consider banning the cause of the awful noise , the vuvuzela.

There are quotes from Messi and Evra that they can`t hear their teammates during the game.

[Yugocelt]

Serbia-Ghana, should be a good one

[ederson]

Krasic Jovanovic Pantelic is a nice trio

GO MARKO !!!

[pbak63]

Impossible to argue with Celtic Maestro's post.

Excellent joke too.

TP awarded.

At least I can watch a rerun of Slovenia v Algeria if my insomnia ever comes back.

[kw10]

Alright people, the Australia Socceroos are going to suprise some people here seeing that some has picked Australia to get beat by quite a lot in the other thread, just you watch 
I really want to watch that game tonight (430am for us in Australia), but I have exams and obviously the Celtics to catch in the morning.

Unfortunately I can't watch the game to prove you guys wrong 
But just you wait, it's going to be a rather close game depite the Aussies playing poorly recently.

Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

[ederson]

To be honest i don`t know much about the australian NT so possibly they are good. But Germany is not the most suitable team for surprises. What story has told us is that Germany regardless of the roster is always a very serious team that never underestimates the opponent

[Casperian]

Truth is, England are vastly overrated. Rooney is a genuine world class talent. The rest is all debatable.

Steven Gerrard is also pretty good, imo.
England would look a lot better with Ferdinand and Hargreaves. I agree with Who that Carrick should play behind Lampard and Gerrard. I also agree that Cole could make a difference, based on his style of play.
I think they should watch some tape of Bayer Leverkusen, when they made it to the CL finals in 2002. Just two centre-backs, fullbacks more like DM´s, a pure defensive midfielder and Lampard and Gerrard in the Ballack and Emerson roles. In a nutshell, these guys have to attack, attack, attack and let someone else take the defensive burden off of them, imo.