Group C Discussion - Algeria, England, Slovenia, Usa

[adopted scouser]

Shouldn't you be out nicking cars?

It's called the world cup so feck off you k.nob

So my original post has been mysteriously deleted, but this retort complete with four letter words remains ?

[Ozz]

It's funny the Italians draw 1-1 to Paraguay and I guess nobody thinks Italia are rubbish, but Englands result is almost identical to theirs but we are in a major crisis. I guess it is best not to listen to the media.

Plenty of time yet, and England are now due a ton of good luck, which makes the difference between 2nd round exit and winning the cup sometimes.

[BuckyRover]

I thought the Italian's looked worse than England.

But I know that the performance in the first game is rarely indicative of the winning team. Journalists still haven't learnt this simple fact.

[philipl]

There was an horrific keeper blunder as well if you want to keep the analogy running!

[Mr. E]

my team for Algeria and the rest of the tournament would be:

Hart

Johnson Terry Dawson A. Cole

Milner Barry Lampard J. Cole

Gerrard

Rooney

If England MUST play with two upfront, it has to be Crouch. If it's not Crouch, it has to be Defoe. AKA players that can actually score goals. But at best it should be Rooney on his own with Gerrard supporting him, which has England's two best players in their best positions. And I'd rather not start with Carragher because I see him getting sent off extremely easy.

But since "the specialist" was happy with the way the team played vs USA, I expect none of this to happen. At best the only change he'll make when Barry is fit is stick Gerrard on the left, where he has never been effective. I really hope I'm wrong.

[SouthAussieRover]

So my original post has been mysteriously deleted, but this retort complete with four letter words remains ?

Would you like a box of tissues?

Put me on ignore or grow a pair and grow up.

What you said in your deleted post was totally uncalled for.

[adopted scouser]

Would you like a box of tissues?

Put me on ignore or grow a pair and grow up.

What you said in your deleted post was totally uncalled for.

Grow a pair ? 3T's psycho

[SouthAussieRover]

Grow a pair ? 3T's psycho

Yawn!

I'll stick you on ignore instead.

[neekoy]

Some top quality managers seem to disagree...

I am sure they don't Eddie

He fits a purpose to score goals but to class him anywhere near Xavi, Iniesta, Kaka, Gerrard, Fabreglass, Sneijder etc is looking through your red and white coloured specs

[thenodrog]

I thought the Italian's looked worse than England.

But I know that the performance in the first game is rarely indicative of the winning team. Journalists still haven't learnt this simple fact.

Apart from Italia 90 and Toto Schillacci the Italians always look the worst team in the tornament imo.

[dave birch]

Apart from Italia 90 and Toto Schillacci the Italians always look the worst team in the tornament imo.

Australia for the final, to win with a foul in the penalty area on.......... Lucas Neill.

It's got to be Theno.

[neekoy]

Apart from Italia 90 and Toto Schillacci the Italians always look the worst team in the tornament imo.

Agree with that, they always start at snails and then get to tortoise by the final.

I like Serie A but seriously, I wish they were knocked out early in a couple of tournaments just so it makes them chance their style. Catenaccio with quality defenders can be good to watch tactically but this Italian sides lacks some quality at the back.

[thenodrog]

Would you like a box of tissues?

Put me on ignore or grow a pair and grow up.

What you said in your deleted post was totally uncalled for.

Simmer down SAR. I well remember your last bout of cabin fever when the above advice applied to you. You need to learn how to count to 10 sometimes. Rem you've got a lot more adverse history with board moderation than AS thats for sure.

[dave birch]

Simmer down SAR. I well remember your last bout of cabin fever when the above advice applied to you. You need to learn how to count to 10 sometimes. Rem you've got a lot more adverse history with board moderation than AS thats for sure.

No comment, but just imagine great guffaws of laughter.

If the rest of the world could understand this, I'd post it on youtube/facebook.

[thenodrog]

Some top quality managers seem to disagree...

Well they are wrong then. If Gerrard didn't exist then Lampard would be OK. Whether either of them would get in my team before Milner is open to conjecture but neither would be in before Joe Cole.

What England desperately needs and which we dont have is a Tugay type player. A midfield general who controls and directs the tempo and direction of play from around the centre circle, who plays keep ball when necessary and stops us giving the ball away so regularly attempting stupid and irresponsible passing moves. This is the type of player who never ever gets mentioned by our Roy of the Rovers inspired media and press brigade who appear to simply want performances based on the charge of the Light Brigade. It didn't work at Balaclava and it won't work now. God only knows what advice is given in the youth coaching manuals. Every England manager since Alf Ramsey has placed individual talent over tactical nous.

In a nutshell England's continual downfall is that we play with our hearts and never with our heads.

Australia for the final, to win with a foul in the penalty area on.......... Lucas Neill.

It's got to be Theno.

This board would be a fantastic place to be.

[RibbleValleyRover]

'Der Kaiser' slams England style

Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer has been scathing in his criticism of England's playing style after their opening game at the World Cup.

While Fabio Capello's team laboured to a 1-1 draw with the United States, Germany crushed the Australians 4-0.

The former German captain, 64, said:

"What I saw of the English against the US had very little to do with football."

"It looked to me as if the English have gone backwards into the bad old days of kick and rush."

"I am not sure if the England coach Fabio Capello can still change much there," he told South African newspaper the Times.

"The English are being punished for the fact that there are very few English players in the Premier League as clubs use better foreign players from all over the world."

===

Think he has a point or is he just rubbing it in?

[tcj_jones]

The problem with the English national team is that we don't have an individual with flair, skill, and creativity. Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Holland, and Portugal have them in abundance, and even the likes of Italy and Germany have more than us.

Unlike those teams listed above, we also have a massive problem in retaining possession. Under Eriksson, McClaren, and now Capello, if a player doesn't have a pass immediately available, he will punt it aimlessly up the pitch and, inevitably, lose posession. We also play with no urgeny and no tempo.

Add to that the fact that we no longer have a traditional Shearer-type number 9 who will bang in the goals, and you see why we prove no match for the best teams in the world.

Furthermore, without Rooney, we'd be absolutely nothing.

I'd continue with the 4-4-2 formation against the lesser teams and look to bag a few goals to cememnt top spot (though I'd bring Cole into the fold on the left wing). However, in the knock-out stages, I think it's imperative that we play 4-5-1 and, if we can't keep the ball, at least try and stop the other team from playing their own game.

[Eddie]

I am sure they don't Eddie

He fits a purpose to score goals but to class him anywhere near Xavi, Iniesta, Kaka, Gerrard, Fabreglass, Sneijder etc is looking through your red and white coloured specs

For a while I had forgotten that football is about the number of step-overs you do and your pass completion rate.

As for the belief that England would be nothing without Rooney, it's simply nonsense. There are plenty of very good players in that squad, a couple of world class ones, and the team would still be a very good one without him.

There's been a massive overreaction to the England draw, only one team has looked particularly impressive in their first game and that has been Germany, a side that most had written off before the tournament began. Friday could easily see England score several.

[MarkBRFC71]

my team for Algeria and the rest of the tournament would be:

Hart

Johnson Terry Dawson A. Cole

Milner Barry Lampard J. Cole

Gerrard

Rooney

If England MUST play with two upfront, it has to be Crouch. If it's not Crouch, it has to be Defoe. AKA players that can actually score goals. But at best it should be Rooney on his own with Gerrard supporting him, which has England's two best players in their best positions. And I'd rather not start with Carragher because I see him getting sent off extremely easy.

But since "the specialist" was happy with the way the team played vs USA, I expect none of this to happen. At best the only change he'll make when Barry is fit is stick Gerrard on the left, where he has never been effective. I really hope I'm wrong.

I'd go with that side too, except I'd have Barry sitting in front of the back 4 and push both Lampard and Gerrard up supporting Rooney.

[BuckyRover]

Germany also had the youngest starting line up in the tournament. They say that experience counts in major tournaments and I expect they will be found out in a tight game.

[neekoy]

For a while I had forgotten that football is about the number of step-overs you do and your pass completion rate.

As for the belief that England would be nothing without Rooney, it's simply nonsense. There are plenty of very good players in that squad, a couple of world class ones, and the team would still be a very good one without him.

There's been a massive overreaction to the England draw, only one team has looked particularly impressive in their first game and that has been Germany, a side that most had written off before the tournament began. Friday could easily see England score several.

and the way you control a midfield, and your defensive duties, a supplying quality ball to your forwards and....actually I am sure you are aware of what world classs midfeidler achieves and you know that is not Lampard.

I didn't say anything about Rooney but since you raised it, England cannot win the World Cup without Rooney.

[philipl]

England cannot win the World Cup.

Hope you don't mind the slight edit for accuracy.

[Eddie]

This is what I dislike most about the World Cup, it's this sort of negativity surrounding several national sides (you see a strong anti-English movement both in the UK and abroad, same occurs in France and even to an an extent in Spain and Italy). Only one side will win the World Cup, but you'd be an absolute moron to rule it out for any of the top 12 or so sides at this stage in the tournament. No side so far has been particularly impressive apart from the Germans and you know that they will all be difficult to beat once it goes down to knock-out.

I tell you what philip, if you're so sure that England can't win the world cup, then what odds would you give me? 100/1? 200's?

As for Lampard, he has yet to be given a stable role in the England side, but his performances for Chelsea leave me in little doubt that he is World Class. He scores goals, he sets up goals and he does a good job of covering a lot of ground for them. For whatever reason he has been on the wrong-end of an inordinate amount of criticism throughout his career, be it the "fat frank" stuff or that he scores deflected goals or whatever it is, but if he played in any other league and wasn't English he'd have all of you cooing about the number of goals he scored and the role he played in a double winning side. Is he the best midfielder in the World? No, of course not, but he's up there. There are probably fewer than 10 central midfielders playing in this tournament who I'd rather see lining up for my team.

[philipl]

It was a joke Eddie.

A bit like England's chances of winning the World Cup- lame and misunderstood.

[neekoy]

10 is still a lot Eddie I am not saying he is ###### just overrated.

5 from Spain, 2 from Brazil, 2 from the Netherlands, 2 from Argentina, 4 from France, 1 from Germany, 1 from Serbia, 1 from Denmark, 1 from Cameroon, 3 from Italy, 1 from Slovakia, 1 from Ivory Coast and of course 4 from England I would prefer.

That is 28 midfeilders I would rather have and not even counting those who are out injured or not in this tournament such as Essien, Ronaldinho, Totti, Rosicky, Diego or Riquelme.

He is overrated. Quality goalscorer and fits Chelsea's purpose but still highly overrated.

We will have to agree to disagree I guess again Eddie.