England vs USA

[Miya]

After watching this match i can conclude England will not win the World Cup, at this stage i have a gut feeling they may not even qualify for the next stage.

There are 2 reasons to my theory.

1. Emile Heskey- A player who cannot put the ball away should not be playing IMO, you can have all the possesion in the world, but if that ball does not cross the white line it means nothing. Never rated him. England should have won that game.

2. English squad is not deep, if a few players got injured then we do not have the quality on the bench to play against teams like Argentina or Brazil.

I am English, but i must admit after today's game I will write them off. And as for the goal keeper, well he will be at West Ham for a long time coming.

Lampard and Rooney do not perform on big stages they are club players not national players.

 

[Tom Urtis]

England probably won't win the World Cup but they will get out of their group and play into the next round. Algeria and Slovenia are not strong enough to play with England, and the United States has a well-deserved reputation for choking in World Cup play.

Regarding England's problems, who really needs to get smart real fast is their coach Fabio Capello. His errors on Saturday vs the US almost cost England the match even before it started, including:
• Waiting too late to name the goal keeper, a distraction and mystery to team mates.
• James Milner should never have started, still suffering from a virus and innefective, had to be replaced.
• Same with Ledley King, should not have started, not in shape with the groin injury, had to be replaced.
• The squad is almost a who's who of the Premier League, but they are playing like allstars not accustomed to being on the same team. This in my opinion is Capello's biggest problem.

Green's gaffe happens...it's not supposed to happen in the World Cup or on the sand lot but every player makes mistakes. Altidore never should have sprinted around Carragher for that post-hitting near-goal but Carragher misjudged Altidore's speed and it happens.

Don't worry about Wayne Rooney; he can turn it on anytime and will be heard from. England has a good team, they just need to play more cohesively, not easy for all stars to do, and Capello needs to take a crash course in common sense football decisions.

 

[xld]

England clearly will not win the world cup, they are not in the best 4 teams here, but they will qualify, even with all of their faults and problems, Slovenia and Algeria are just not good enough.

I must admit I was very disappointed with the USA, they have absolutely nothing up front. The England defence were awul yesterday, giving them unchallenged headers and being slow on the turn, but USA had nothing to take advantage of this. No wonder Hull don't want Altidore (incidentally, I see he has just been fined £3,500 for driving over the speed limit with no insurance, he is as smart as he is a good striker!).

To my mind, England have to drop the big striker dogma, play Rooney up-front on his own, with Gerrard roaming freely behind him (look what he can do), and Barry in the holding position (maybe even two, Barry and Carrick). Gerrard hasn't had a great season, but he is still one of England's two best players. I certainly woudn't bother with Wright-Phillips again, and therein lies the problem as Miya said, England have no depth. Who fills in for Terry and King? Upson and Carragher aren't up to it, Dawson may be but he is far too slow. Who fills in for Cole (Ashley) and Johnson, even there Johnson is a poor defender? Who fills in for Gerrard and Rooney, there is no-one. Lampard is ineffectual, and has been for a long time, and should be dropped, but who would you replace him with?

In a better group, England would struggle to qualify, but not this one.

 

[xld]

England probably won't win the World Cup but they will get out of their group and play into the next round. Algeria and Slovenia are not strong enough to play with England, and the United States has a well-deserved reputation for choking in World Cup play.

Their problem might be that they ease off thinking they have done enough.

 

[xlHammer]

The England team's main problem is that the players are acutely aware that if they make even the slightest error (real or perceived) the English media will utterly crucify them. So we have a team of players who are terrified of using any flair or individuality, no one wants to be the one who makes the mistake.

That's what I think anyway.

 

[xld]

... So we have a team of players who are terrified of using any flair or individuality ...

It might also be that they haven't actually got much of either.

 

[Miya]

The England team's main problem is that the players are acutely aware that if they make even the slightest error (real or perceived) the English media will utterly crucify them. So we have a team of players who are terrified of using any flair or individuality, no one wants to be the one who makes the mistake.

That's what I think anyway.

Apart from Gerrard, i dont think anyone has any flair, Rooney is a club player not a national player so we can count him out, and why do they keep playing Heskey he is awful, we need people who can score goals. I think it will take a generation before we can produce a Messi for England, i cant see it happening anytime soon.

IMO they should have picked Wallcot, he is young and has pace, we need to bring in some young uns.

 

[Thorin]

Couldn't agree more with the comments above, although I would personally add Joe Cole to the list (very small list) of quality players for England, he can at times produce some real flair for the side.

Shame that more youngsters were'nt included, what a about Adam Johnson ? Plenty of pace and flair, and a natural left footed player ! Something England seem to miss.

 

[xlHammer]

My point is this, serial killers get an easier ride in the British press than England footballers, you're not trying to tell me that's not going to affect their performance on the pitch?

 

[xld]

My point is this, serial killers get an easier ride in the British press than England footballers, you're not trying to tell me that's not going to affect their performance on the pitch?

At £150,00pw for an idiot like John Terry, I don't care how rough a ride they get. If they can't take it, take a job as a cabbie, where he really belongs.