Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia

england has got to win, even if it is 1-0.

 

We will, stop freakin'!

 

im scared, i cannot take another loss in these 24 hrs (celtics, germany, usa, now england)

hahah

 

USA didn't lose. We aren't good enough to consider a draw a loss. Now if England draw that would be a loss.

 

Ronan what the hell is going on with your teeam, i just turned it on...shocked

 

I don't know. We aren't adventurous enough. This has been an issue in our squad since I was born.

 

England!...., what is wrong with them?...wonder who they'll blame now. Rooney is shit for his nation. Carragher is a liability, good thing he missed next match due to yellow cards. I reckon Sol would have done a better job in defense.

 

Wow! Group is wide open. I was hoping Algeria would have nothing to play for in the final game.

 

The youngster Boudebouz didn't show much as I hoped, but his Algerian team still managed a classy defensive performance. I will openly admit that I took a nap around halftime and woke up around the 72nd minute mark. England are playing some awful snoozily football this World Cup.

 

Possibly one of the most poorly constructed teams in the World Cup this year, and that is not a punch at Capello in any way (really, no sarcasm).

 

I haven't seen England play good football since I've been alive. They are not a good team, they have always been pumped up to be better than they are by the English media, yet they fail every time. Look back in the last 20 years and look at our run in tournaments. Sure, we grab some great results along the way but we haven't come close to winning a tournament in years.

 

Man of the Match goes to Algeria's debutant goalkeeper, M'Bohli.

 

Capello has proven to be World Class, and I think we witnessed an improvement since he came on. But I still think that Gerrard and Lampard can't play together. They don't compliment each other well and to me that is where the problem of creativity is at. The wingers are good. Heskey is shit, defoe should be starting alongside shrek instead. Defense is shaky, with terry the only reliable one.

 

Who would have thought that if Algeria and Slovenia both win then they advance? I figured Algeria would have been eliminated by now. US just has to win and we are in as potentially the top seed in our bracket.

 

Can't believe U.S.A. just needs a win to advance. Never would of thought that this would be possible after falling behind 2-0 before halftime.

 

These are the changes I would like to see...

First thing first, this formation is not working for us. The only position that I agree with is putting Gareth Barry in the holding role. He is the only player who actually seems to know what he is doing (I'm excluding the defense as Johnson, Cole, and Terry all look solid). I looks like we run a butchered 4-4-2 and I haven't seen it give us any sort of penetration. One of the main problems today was Gerrard's positioning. He was supposed to play an advanced role on the left-wing but because of habit (I'm assuming) he kept drifting into a central role and completely negated Lampard's effect on the game. Also, I noticed that when Rooney drifted to the left-wing to compensate Gerrard's positioning, Heskey and Gerrard didn't move up-front so we would be throwing crosses into the far post with only our midget Lennon to attack.

Anyway, I think we should revert to a 4-4-3, a bit like Arsenal's tactic (fuck you!). We could still play Barry in the holding role with Gerrard and Carrick in the midfield (assuming we have a full squad here). Up-front we can play Rooney on the left or right (probably left), Crouch or Heskey (no thanks) as our target man, and someone speedy on the right. We have the choice between Walcott, Lennon, or Wright-Phillips. We may be able to try Young in that position (on the left) but I'm not sure how well he would perform.

Crouch needs to start every game for England alongside Rooney. He will be a constant threat in the air as any player of his weight would be. He is also technically gifted and can hold up the ball if needed. Rooney should be allowed to roam as he does with United. We saw a bit of that tonight but it really doesn't work effectively when you have a bunch of shit players around you. Against USA, Rooney didn't touch the ball for 17 minutes. Seventeen minutes! That is pathetic for our top player. It wasn't only the US game where he looked invisible, we saw the same thing yesterday.

Heskey really hasn't been our worst player by a longshot and it is almost as if he put "ST" instead of "CB" on his resume. He makes some fantastic tackles in the oppositions half of the pitch but can't do anything with it. He is a great guy to head balls on to our out-and-out striker but nobody seems to be clicking.

Lennon is a fairly decent player but I still don't think he's good enough for international play. He looks out of his depth when he gets the ball and I only counted one decent cross into the box today. Wright-Phillips is the same if not worse. Every time he got the ball today he lost it.

I don't have much complaints about our defense. Carragher is always a liability but Ferdinand should be in the role. Johnson and Cole are solid and I have faith in both of them.

I would stick with James between the sticks. If he keeps playing like he did tonight, he shouldn't have much trouble keeping the #1 shirt.

 

Yep, crazing things going on in our group. So much for it being easy. Fuck the media.

 

Rooney upset at booing fans...lol, what does he expect!!


[video=youtube;xdxj9gJMqS4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdxj9gJMqS4[/video]

 

I can't believe the media believed it would be easy. Teams like Algeria and Slovenia are very difficult to predict since they both have improved so much over the past few years. The media doesn't keep track of these teams much, which is unprofessional.

 

You're missing a vital word there. The "English" media... There is your answer.