England - So much for change...

Sam#1

Did you read my first post in the thread before posting ?

Gazza

How about wankers wait until the important games to make a comment instead of tabloid-style bitching after a meaningless friendly.
Fucks sake, it's been two games.

Steev

Exactly. If Capello can't knock England into some kind of shape, who can? Appointing him England manager is like asking Michelangelo to create the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel using crayons.

Vidicious

Yes, and I think you'll find if you read my post that I'm actually backing you on this?

Sam#1

It sounded to me as if you were having a go.

If you weren't, I do apologise, I must have mis-interpreted it.

Vidicious

No mate, agree with everything you said, spot on.

Sam#1

Cheers.

Sorry if I came across as being rude. No harm done, eh ?

kietotheworld

Based on two games or 16 years of success?

pert

Two games

Immature

Correction, he had 6 in 6.

Sam#1

Is it ?

Fair enough.

Ramshock

haha good ole england fans, two matches in and already bitching!

Wes

This is the squad of 23 Capello should have picked, on form.

D. James
R. Green
P. Robinson

W. Brown
R. Ferdinand
J. Terry
J. Woodgate
J. Lescott
A. Cole
G. Johnson

D. Bentley
S. Gerrard
M. Carrick
G. Barry
O. Hargreaves
J. Cole
A. Young
F. Lampard

W. Rooney
J. Defoe
M. Owen
G Agbonlahor
P. Crouch

From that, I'd play the follwing starting 11 away to France:-

---------------James
Johnson---Ferdinand-Terry---Cole
-------------Carrick-------------
---Gerrard------------Bentley----
---J.Cole------------Rooney-----
---------------Defoe

ralphie88

Form?

Wes

Thought i'd have a few to explain.

Crouch needs to be in the squad, as a way to change the game, by getting Gerrard, Rooney, Lampard et al to get knock downs off him. Englands strength is those sorts of players. They're all likely goal scorers. Besides, Crouch has done supremely well for england, and scored a lot of goals. A compelling argument.

Robinson has played a few good games for Spurs, and has been involved with the squad on previous occaisons, he's as fair a deputy as there is. He needs to loose weight more than anything, fine keeper before the world cup, his experiences have ruined his confidence. Same with Carson.

Hargreaves has played a few really big games for United, away to Arsenal and Liverpool and got victories. The press reckons he should be in the squad because Ferguson obviously rates him, and rather to be shown up by SAF once again, the media is in this case trying to be ahead of the game. That blind faith will only last so long.

FlawlessThaw

At the end of the day Crouch has to be picked because he is the only English striker who is taller than me.

CockneyHammer

Can't be asked to do the whole team but here's just the strikers;

W. Rooney - Hasn't scored for over a month
J. Defoe - Well worth a shout now at Pompey
M. Owen - Yup
G Agbonlahor - Hasn't scored this year
P. Crouch - Not playing enough games

On form I would add in;

Ashton - Scored 2 in his last 2 dominated both games, over his injury now and fighting for that England place

Bent - Showing real signs of class when Spurs decide to play him, completely changes the game when he comes on

Sam#1

You've got a Happy Birthday thread in the General, Cockney.

Gazza

Did you see him against Liverpool? Immense, he was.

CockneyHammer

I did actually and I do agree, doesn't discount the fact though that he hasn't scored recently

Owen has been immense recently, as has Ashton as has Darren Bent

FlawlessThaw

Calling Ashton, Owen and Bent immense in recent weeks is seriously clutching at straws. Owen has scored just five goals since the turn of the year, Ashton has just had two decent games in a row and Bent can't get into the first XI at his club. They have done good but immense is stretching it.

RUnited

I had a similar thought to you when I saw the 23, and then the first 11.

But then, couldn't it just be Capello having a look at the old guards to see why they were so special and picked all the time?

For the last 7-8 years, it's been the same team over and over again. The top talent, not necessarily the best on the day they played, but the top talent of the country nonetheless. They made their reputations for playing well in big games for their clubs and every international game is supposed to be a big one.

With time I'm quite sure he'll drop some big names that never perform and start to introduce ones that can play well for him. He'll need a mixture of both experience and form if he's ever to succeed.

It wouldn't have been fair for Terry, Lampard, Owen, or Crouch if he didn't let them prove themselves at all in favour of the other untried players. It wouldn't be fair if he decided to make another player captain before giving Terry one more chance either, so don't hold your breath when you see Terry captain the next game.

He did say he had only 5-6 matches to look at every available player, so you can't say he did wrong by wanting to see how the top talents of the country play football first hand.

I don't think you can judge him from all these friendlies that he is using as a try-out. The same way you shouldn't judge a club manager in his first 6 months on the job. The same should apply to national manager.

REd FUn DevIl

Tbh the team didnt play bad, it was a keepet mistake that ended on a penalty.

Anyway Rooney alone upfront is not an option when you have a lot of choices to make a partnership. Capello should have known that.

RUnited

to make england tough to beat, he's going to need Hargreaves-Barry type player to play the makelele role.

plus he's playing away from home. even SAF plays 4-5-1 away from home and in big games with rooney alone up front while tevez goes to the bench.

Bilbo

England don't have a huge pool of quality players, so we should all get used to see the same old names in the squad.

We have players with talent, that cannot pass and move together as a team. That has long been the case and its unlikely to change with this generation of players, as its probably not something that you can coach into them. Our players on the whole have poor tactical knowledge.

Capello will know this too, and he'll be looking to restructure us into a side that are tough to beat, because thats our best chance of being successful. The media question why Capello felt last nights performance was an improvement, when we clearly were very ordinary, but he is obviously seeing some structural team improvements starting to bear fruit.

Why do the English fans still feel that this side can expect to go to France and get a result?

AdZzUtd

Hargreaves was arguably our best player yesterday.

FranklyVulgar

I agree with that Bilbo.

The media in england hype up the players so much that everyone expects them to be world beaters. The reality is that england have one top defender (Rio) one top midfielder (Gerrard) and one top striker (Rooney).

Now Gerrard is playing piss for england and that hurts the team alot. There is alot of decent players but they are all so simelar that the team ends up with no blend. Only player with creative spark or ability to skin a man is joe cole. The rest of the wingers are average at best.

Bringing in Capello is not going to make the players better. Capello is not a total football advocator, he is a successful manager who cares not for the manor in victory but for the victory.

Another major factor is that England are no longer a team to be feared, people no longer hold the same respect.

njred

Doesn't help when a team doesn't have a striker.Let's face it,Owen is done,Rooney for all his talent isn't a bonified out and out striker and never scores goals. Relying on midfielders to score against the likes of Brazil and France isn't going to do it. Can't win if you can't score.

Bilbo

I don't agree about the level of talent. I think England have a group of top level talent, and a group of players that are sufficient. No-one could convince me that Cole, Terry, Rio, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney, J Cole are not amongst the finest players on the planet in their positions.