England vs USA

[xlHammer]

Actually I think John Terry is one of the few who can take it, given the amount of stick he's had this season and still won the title. It's Chelsea's £150kpw and I don't expect they're complaining. He's still an idiot though.

 

[WaterGypsy]

Come off it ....

England were all over USA like a rash ... just that Howard played a blinder after getting kicked in the side

Rooney is WORLD class and will show his true colours once he's settled in

Gerrard has the makings of a good captain

Admittedly Heskey & Crouch aren't as good but they are potential game changers

 

[Miya]

England were ordinary against USA, it was 50/50 for both sides. Possesion counts for nothing if you cant't score goals.

Rooney is only a good player for Man Utd, he doesnt perform the same level for England the same can be said about Lampard. So IMO a world class player is someone who can play at the same level for both club and country.

They should not complain about the ball also, they had plenty of time to prepare for it, why didnt the premier league introduce the football during the season like the German domestic league did.

There are bo excuses England must win against their next 2 opponents.

Come off it ....

England were all over USA like a rash ... just that Howard played a blinder after getting kicked in the side

Rooney is WORLD class and will show his true colours once he's settled in

Gerrard has the makings of a good captain

Admittedly Heskey & Crouch aren't as good but they are potential game changers

 

[xld]

England were ordinary against USA, it was 50/50 for both sides. Possesion counts for nothing if you cant't score goals.

To be honest, USA looked a better footballing side, they just had absolutely nothing up front.

Rooney is only a good player for Man Utd, he doesnt perform the same level for England the same can be said about Lampard. So IMO a world class player is someone who can play at the same level for both club and country.

Agree about Lampard and the criteria. But not so sure I agree about Rooney. He needs support, and donkeys like Heskey and Crouch will never be good enough. I think Gerrard would be a better option, but their is still an overall lack of footballers in the team to take advantage of his ability.

They should not complain about the ball also, they had plenty of time to prepare for it, why didnt the premier league introduce the football during the season like the German domestic league did.

Because the premier league is about making money now, not supporting the national team.

There are bo excuses England must win against their next 2 opponents.

They will, remember that group C is a very weak group. But it will not make them a good team, and their flaws will be exposed later in the tournament. Before the first games I expected Serbia to finish second in group D, and I think they may have given England some trouble, but Ghana will probably be an easier bet.

 

[RoryA]

IMO they should have picked Wallcot, he is young and has pace

You need more than that in international football (witness the USA strikers), and he's provided little evidence recently.

I actually thought Heskey was one of England's best players in that match, but you can't afford to carry him as a striker who can't score. Gerrard up front off Rooney has to be worth a go, especially if Barry is fit again.

It's early days and frankly few teams have looked that good so far, but I expect lots of them will improve as the tournament goes on. Hopefully not France though.

 

[Norie]

Miya

The English Premier League/FA or whoever couldn't introduce the ball earlier - they aren't sponsored by Adidas.

The Bundesliga is, so Germany had a whole season with the ball - nobody else did.

England weren't even allowed to use the ball in there lead-up friendlies.

 

[SuperFerret]

Hopefully not France though.

My best friend is a France supporter, invited her to come watch the England match and she turned up in a France shirt! girl is gonna get me linched one of these days!

The world cup always brings back memories, I was in France on a school trip for the end of France 98, we wanted to stay around and watch all the celebrations but they ferried us all back to our boring hostel to listen to one of the 'mentors' playing guitar and trying to get us to sing. Yawn

 

[xld]

It's early days and frankly few teams have looked that good so far, but I expect lots of them will improve as the tournament goes on. Hopefully not France though.

I don't think there is much fear of that, more likely the opposite. Apparently, they are coming pretty close to punch-ups with the coach - what sort of imbecile behaves like that. The French team are silly prima-donnas at the moment. Whoever would have thought that Anelka could look like a model of moderation and rationality?

 

[xld]

My best friend is a France supporter, invited her to come watch the England match and she turned up in a France shirt! girl is gonna get me linched one of these days!

Never mind that, did she look good in it?

 

[RoryA]

Whoever would have thought that Anelka could look like a model of moderation and rationality?

Rod Serling, maybe.