Football World Cup 2010.

[DaGaffer]

Yes England are dire but stop blaming one man.

No-one's blaming one man; they were all shit. Including Rooney. Its not just about support for him, he messed up most of his passes, got caught in possession and had a lousy first touch. I've watched a lot of crappy English performances down the years, and this was just about the worst.

 

[Everz]

The only ones to come out with any credit would be A.Cole and James, both of them at least looked like they gave a damn.

 

[Raven]

Its the world cup for fucks sake, every players dream. Why the fuck do the England players just not care, what the fuck is wrong with them?

A shambles and a disgrace, bin the lot of them and start again.

 

[old.user4556]

Heskey also needs to feck off.

 

[Turamber]

Heskey also needs to feck off.

And replace him with Defoe? Or Crouch? Or even worse have an out of form Rooney up front by himself? The simple fact is we don't have good forward options but at least the big man has put some effort in and played like he was proud to be out there.

Rooney and Lampard should be sent home.

 

[Trem]

Not defending England just a little tired of people slagging Rooney off when he isn't being given anything to work with except over hit passes that somehow he's expected to get to.

No wonder he doesn't look himself and tired because he's expected to perform miracles with shite service and having to work hard by dropping very deep then running like a madman trying to get back to his position. Yes England are dire but stop blaming one man.

For a lot of the season with Man Utd he was sublime, possibly the best forward in the world and for a lot of that time he was on his own (Berbatov so doesn't count). He simply isn't performing now and since the last quarter of the season. He won't be subbed though like Lampard won't be subbed, their names are bigger than the results it seems.

Everyone said if Rooney performs we will do well, he isn't performing.

 

[Ch3tan]

It was the wrong formation, the wrong players in a couple of cases, and the wrong tactics, coupled with very poor performances from the team. Fabio's fault as much as the players.

As fans this nation is shit, encourage and support don't boo. Fuck off and support someone else instead if all you can do is put your team down and belittle them. I don't give a shit if they've paid a fortune to be there, so have fans of other nations, and a lot have travelled a lot further.

 

[Marc]

as I posted on OT


England's approach to football as a whole is the problem. It is never 'why not fix the problem to stop it happening again?' it is always 'get rid of the problem, forget about it', like Robert Green. Don't ask why is he making the mistakes, don't ask why Carson made those mistakes years ago, just drop them, it's much easier that way.


I mean, is it any wonder why England struggle so much when They are relying on a player like Frank Lampard in a 4-4-2? A makeshift central midfielder who clearly isn't up to the job. What does Capello actually expect Frank to do? Win the ball back? Create chances? Dictate play ala Xavi? Spray passes around the field and control from deep ala Alonso? Frank does none of these things. Frank Lampard's game is based around the entire way Chelsea play, he plays alongside a big target man striker, he has a midfield and defence behind him that swings the ball from flank to flank, probing space before putting it in for players like Drogba and Anelka, if the cross happens to reach the edge of the box, Frank is there to score, but Frank doesn't pull the strings from deep, so why is Capello trying to get him to do so?

England need to ask themselves 'why don't we have a player like Xavi?' Whilst Spain have Alonso, Xavi, Fabregas, Iniesta and many more plying their trade in la liga. I don't accept that players like Xavi are just naturally gifted, he's a pint sized midfielder with limited athletic ability, but he's been coached and responded to coaching in such a way that has made him world class. Obviously, some of it is natural, his ability to understand the game and make correct decisions isn't that of an ordinary footballer, but England don't have a player who can come close to doing what he does. Only Paul Scholes springs to mind of recent memory, but he's considered one of our greatest midfielders ever, 'a once in a lifetime player', whilst I feel England should be rolling these players off of conveyor belts given the facilities and funding we have available.

It's pretty simple, until grass roots coaching improves, until it's nationally accepted that England will not progress at all as a nation if they don't accept that the philosophies of playing the modern game are completely wrong. England could have Mourinho, Guardiola, Fergie or Wenger, neither coach would succeed if they are given the current pool of players to select from, simply because they are a decade behind what countries like Spain, Argentina and France are producing. Why spend £800m on wembley when the money would have been better spent on some sort of national academy?

 

[Pfy]

It was the wrong formation, the wrong players in a couple of cases, and the wrong tactics, coupled with very poor performances from the team. Fabio's fault as much as the players.

As fans this nation is shit, encourage and support don't boo. Fuck off and support someone else instead if all you can do is put your team down and belittle them. I don't give a shit if they've paid a fortune to be there, so have fans of other nations, and a lot have travelled a lot further.

Are you sure it was the England fans booing and not the Algerians as to be honest, they must be pretty embarressed to only get a draw in that game with the standard of football from England.

 

[Ch3tan]

Good England team tonight, only the inclusion of Carragher is a little worrying. Time to get behind the boys though. Prediction time? 3-0 to England with Defoe coming off the bench to get a late couple and everyone and his mother to be asking for Heskey to be dropped. Again.

Sorry, were you on crack when the team sheet came out? I think you are the only person in the whole of England who went "Heskey, great ". Gerrard on the left and Lamps in a deep CM role again. The majority of people were hoping for a 451/433.

edit:// Also, it says a lot about the group as a whole that England can get a higher score draw than the USA in the next game and still qualify in 2nd place! 3 draws and into the knockout stages?

 

[Trem]

As fans this nation is shit, encourage and support don't boo. Fuck off and support someone else instead if all you can do is put your team down and belittle them. I don't give a shit if they've paid a fortune to be there, so have fans of other nations, and a lot have travelled a lot further.

Did those fans witness the worst game of this world cup though? Did those fans witness, as a whole, the highest paid footballers in the world playing like they had AIDS of the legs? Did those fans get told by many that their team are world beaters?

Why the fuck shouldn't we boo and complain?

You have listened too much to your mate on FB Ch3t

 

[Aada]

Did those fans witness the worst game of this world cup though? Did those fans witness, as a whole, the highest paid footballers in the world playing like they had AIDS of the legs? Did those fans get told by many that their team are world beaters?

Why the fuck shouldn't we boo and complain?

You have listened too much to your mate on FB Ch3t

Why should they boo?

Who does it help? what does it help with? certainly not confidence, did you hear the french booing their team off? in fact have you heard any fans booing their team except us?

It wasn't if the England players went off with a smile on their face they were as fraustrated as anyone else was booing does not fucking help not in the slightest.

 

[Raven]

Why should they boo?

Who does it help? what does it help with? certainly not confidence, did you hear the french booing their team off? in fact have you heard any fans booing their team except us?

It wasn't if the England players went off with a smile on their face they were as fraustrated as anyone else was booing does not fucking help not in the slightest.

I agree, the supporters who spent their savings to go and support them on the other side of the world should cheer and clap after such a great display of football, especially when you think the poor loves only get 60k a week to kick a ball around for a few hours!

Please

 

[Aoami]

For me, the blame has to lie with Capello. Too many people out of of position, poor tactics, 11 very nervous looking players. This whole 'announce the squad 2 hours before the game' thing has to go, it's not doing anyone any favours. 4-4-2 has to go, we don't have the players to play 4-4-2. Joe Cole should come into the team and we should play 4-3-3 with Rooney up front alone.

Roy Hodgson is in South Africa... Capello should be sacked and replaced by Hodgson.

 

[Embattle]

Why should they boo?

Who does it help? what does it help with? certainly not confidence, did you hear the french booing their team off? in fact have you heard any fans booing their team except us?

It wasn't if the England players went off with a smile on their face they were as fraustrated as anyone else was booing does not fucking help not in the slightest.

You'll find that a complete lack of real effort makes fans like that, esp with spending so much money and making the effort themselves to go and watch.

Yes Capello should change a lot more than he is but I reject dumping this right on his doorstep, too often they seemed to lose all shape and it just seem to get worse and worse.

 

[Aada]

I agree, the supporters who spent their savings to go and support them on the other side of the world should cheer and clap after such a great display of football, especially when you think the poor loves only get 60k a week to kick a ball around for a few hours!

Please

What about the other countries their fans don't boo so why do ours? i tell you why because that's England build em up then knock em down when things get tough.

We are the only country in the world cup to boo our players it's sad and it doesn't help anyone or anything.

 

[Embattle]

Yes they do, at the moment excluding one team we've been by far one of the biggest disappointments of this WC.

 

[Trem]

You'll find that a complete lack of real effort makes fans like that, esp with spending so much money and making the effort themselves to go and watch.

Yes Capello should change a lot more than he is but I reject dumping this right on his doorstep, too often they seemed to lose all shape and it just seem to get worse and worse.

Exactly, if the score was 0-0 last night but the players had gone hell for leather trying their hearts out then there would of been no booing. It was the appearance of them not giving a shit and not actually trying that pissed most people off.

Spain lost 1-0 to Switzerland but fuck me they tried their tits off, how many shots did Spain have compared to England last night?

 

[ECA]

What about the other countries their fans don't boo so why do ours? i tell you why because that's England build em up then knock em down when things get tough.

We are the only country in the world cup to boo our players it's sad and it doesn't help anyone or anything.

Are you joking? Plenty of countries boo their teams when they underperform.

 

[Aph3x]

We're England we make things hard for ourselves. We were piss poor last night and I think the main reason for it was a lack of passion. The players didnt look like they cared, its almost as if they were frightened to make a mistake then they were to give it a go.

We need to stick Gerrard behind Rooney drop Heskey and stick Joe Cole on the left. Gerrard will be able to influence the game alot more from a central position and we should let Frank Lampard off the leash and let him push further forward, we need a win, we could do with a convincing one at that.

No regrets, no complaints no fear. Just go out there an play the game.

 

[Turamber]

The majority of people were hoping for a 451/433.

The majority of people like Big Brother, have flags hanging from their windows and think the Costa del Sol is the height of foreign travel. The majority of people are, in short, utter morons. I'm very glad to be a minority, we may be oppressed from time to time but we know our shit.

 

[Turamber]

What about the other countries their fans don't boo so why do ours? i tell you why because that's England build em up then knock em down when things get tough.

Same thing happened in 1990. England went to the tournament as one of the favourites, patriotic fervor sweeping the nation. After the opening two draws and non-performances the papers were demanding the team was brought home so as not to disgrace the nation any further.

Capello simply has to gamble and try something new, like Robson did all those years ago. Back then it was a player driven introduction of a sweeper - according to some media reports the players this time want Gerrard playing off Rooney.

Whatever he chooses to do the players need to play like their proud of the shirt and enjoying their football. England always produce when it matters and I would hope, based on historical evidence, that they will turn up against Slovenia.

 

[Scouse]

Here's my $0.02:

England were utterly, utterly shit last night. And it starts with Capello.

The players were all individually shit - the worst three being Lampard, Lennon and Rooney - and the rest not far behind. James, Ashley Cole and (in the first half) Gerrard were "OK" - but that's a stretch.

BUT:

WTF is Capello doing? Gerrard on the left is a total waste of time. It's possibly his worst position for England (I'd not mind that much if he was even put out on the right). For a start it means we've nobody in the middle who can effectively play the ball. Secondly, he's shit on the left - even for Liverpool - and it leaves a huge gap. Thirdly it means he's not stuck right next to Rooney, where he should be.

On the few occasions where they found themselves together last night there were flashes that this could really work. But generally Gerrard was to be found miles from the fat pie-eating little fuck.

For England to work Capello's going to have to either ditch Lampard and put Joe Cole out on the left and Gerrard in the middle or do what practically everyone in the country knows should be done (and the thing the pundits (who are mostly professional footballers and managers) almost unanimously agree on): Go 4-5-1.

Personally, on Lampards showing last night and given Capello's utter adherence to 4-4-2 then it's at least worth trying to start by benching Lamps, bringing Gerrard into the middle and putting someone on the left who can actually operate there. (Joe Cole is creative at least and who I'd personally like to see).

Give it a half. If that doesn't work then take Heskey off (who looks even less like scoring a goal now than he did at the start of the tournament), go 4-5-1 and see what happens.


I predict Capello won't do this. We'll get a slim victory against slovenia and he'll stick with what he's doing. Which we all know is shite. We should have kept Sven at this rate.



Also: Rooney was completely out of order last night moaning at the fans booing. The stadium was 3/4's full of England fans who've paid a lot of money to be there. You could even occasionally hear them over the vuvuselas. They did a good job of supporting a team that looked utterly dire and when they expressed the frustrations that we were all feeling at the end of the match I can't blame them.

 

[Scouse]

Oh and:

I'm very glad to be a minority, we may be oppressed from time to time but we know our shit.

A) You're a Villa fan, so that counts knowing anything out, and;

B) Get a fucking room with Emile will ya? It's getting embarrasing for everyone else

 

[Aph3x]

To be fair to Rooney he had a go to vent some anger, I think he probably regretted it as soon as he got into the dressing room, he looked like a player who was pissed off at his own personal performance and also Englands as a whole, I hope it sparks him and he starts to play with a bit of fire in his belly, the two performances so far have been very poor.

 

[Jupitus]

That was the worst performance I have ever seen from England.... utterly dire and depressing.

As for Rooney moaning about the fans booing, bollocks to him. That was the first game I have watched in this world cup where we could actually hear the fans singing above the vuvu-drone. Our fans were singing their hearts out to try to lift the players and what did they get in return? Fuck all, and not even a glimmer of hope for the next games... I'd have booed them too, fuckers.

 

[rynnor]

I have reflected more on last nights game and the real problem as I see it is in the minds of the players.

I dont know what their mental state is but it sure isnt the one we need to get decent performances out of them - thats partly down to them but a big chunk comes from Capello and his regime.

He has not managed to settle them down so that they can play - they look terrified of making a mistake in some cases and others just look pissed off.

Its a shame that Capello who did so well in qualifying seems to have stalled - the friendlies were poor and the finals have been disastrous.

 

[Scouse]

I agree that there's big mental problems for the players. But I also thought qualifying was poor as well. Despite the results I've not really enjoyed watching England play under him.

I wouldn't say we've been especially effective either really. Kind of "minimum required"...

 

[Turamber]

A) You're a Villa fan, so that counts knowing anything out,

Not being funny, but being a fan of a team not blessed with huge success recently I have a different viewpoint to a number of posters here. Plastic fans of big four clubs generally chose to follow that team because they're successful, because they play good football and because they have better players than other teams.

As a born and bred Brummy following my local team I am just happy to see eleven players put some effort in. Great if we play well and with skill, but the minimum requirement is effort and looking bothered.

For my money most of the big name players in the England team have done nothing of note yet, and I'd drop them in a heartbeat. Heskey had an average game yesterday, certainly nowhere near as good as he was against USA, but he still put some effort in and looked really pissed at being substituted.

Thats what I want, at a minimum, from my players. YMMV.

 

[ECA]

From my uneducated non-football-religious type persony - the england team problem is that they don't play as a team and expect to win just by showing up.

They'd be better off with a lower level manager who could get some basic teamwork going instead of someone trying to pull off club level stuff when the team doesn't play together enough to make that work.

It doesn't seem to be a hard concept to grasp but it seems to have eluded our national team managers over the last few decades.