England World Cup Discussion Thread

[R123]

Dressing room invader told England team: You're a disgrace - mirror.co.uk

-good one this, as he got lost looking for the toilet, haha.

[carmine]

Dressing room invader told England team: You're a disgrace - mirror.co.uk

-good one this, as he got lost looking for the toilet, haha.

Man Utd fan from south east London

[smokie36]

Dressing room invader told England team: You're a disgrace - mirror.co.uk

-good one this, as he got lost looking for the toilet, haha.

Man Utd fan from south east London

They can't afford to live in Surrey anymore.

[tigerfish]

god forbid it has to come down to this, but take note england. this is what i want to see when you pull on that shirt. a bit of pride and passion!

stuart pearce your a legend. please give those bunch of over paid prima donnas, a good kick up the backside.

[noel2499rk]

god forbid it has to come down to this, but take note england. this is what i want to see when you pull on that shirt. a bit of pride and passion!

stuart pearce your a legend. please give those bunch of over paid prima donnas, a good kick up the backside.

I was there that day, what a moment, the noise when he put that penalty away was unbelievable.

[Jockstar]

Once again the same people who were singing the managers praises in the qualifiers are now gunning for him. Typical England.

[Foxman888]

Sack Capello.....Time for Bechkam to begin his new career....

The time when David Beckham is the England manager will come, but not for some time yet.

What actually is he doing sat in the box?

Teaching the players how to watch the game with one raised eye brow?

I agree with an earlier post that suggests that a coach from England should lead the team......maybe this is the issue.

The likes of Neil Warnock would be great at the world cup.

Oh please, we're playing badly enough now without bringing in some dinosaur like Warnock (or Allardyce as another person posted), don't get me wrong great motivators and we would be organised, but when you watch teams like Holland, ok they haven't played brilliantly, but their players are so interchangeable, they switch positions/formations so easily within games it puts us to shame.

Our players are so one dimensional, Lampard and Gerrard don't even look like the same players as the ones who appear in the premiership week in week out.

I think Hansum is correct, at youth level its all wrong, although speaking to friend whose son has just been in an academy for a few years, its certainly getting better, he has nothing bad to say about the academy and his son has just been released after 4 years there, so there could have been bitterness but there wasn't.

I think Joe Cole is the exception, and made it into the big time despite the english set up not because of it...although west ham do have a great tradition of playing football how it should be played.

[Foxman888]

Once again the same people who were singing the managers praises in the qualifiers are now gunning for him. Typical England.

Couldn't agree more, don't remember anyone complaining about Duncan Fletcher not being English when we won the Ashes, its only when we're losing the 'oh he's a foreigner' brigade come out.

Yes ideally i'd like an English manager, i would go for Hodgson of any of the current crop of englishmen (not many i know), vastly experienced, european experience, and tries to get the football down on the ground and played as it shoud be, also seems to be able to get the most out of players.

[carmine]

Once again the same people who were singing the managers praises in the qualifiers are now gunning for him. Typical England.

Couldn't agree more, don't remember anyone complaining about Duncan Fletcher not being English when we won the Ashes, its only when we're losing the 'oh he's a foreigner' brigade come out.

Yes ideally i'd like an English manager, i would go for Hodgson of any of the current crop of englishmen (not many i know), vastly experienced, european experience, and tries to get the football down on the ground and played as it shoud be, also seems to be able to get the most out of players.

I've heard little or nothing really blaming Capello because he's not English. The blames lies with some crass decision making

[Foxman888]

Once again the same people who were singing the managers praises in the qualifiers are now gunning for him. Typical England.

Couldn't agree more, don't remember anyone complaining about Duncan Fletcher not being English when we won the Ashes, its only when we're losing the 'oh he's a foreigner' brigade come out.

Yes ideally i'd like an English manager, i would go for Hodgson of any of the current crop of englishmen (not many i know), vastly experienced, european experience, and tries to get the football down on the ground and played as it shoud be, also seems to be able to get the most out of players.

I've heard little or nothing really blaming Capello because he's not English. The blames lies with some crass decision making

Maybe i hang about in the wrong circles!

But i agree some of the decisions, from the initial squad selection to decisions made during the tournament have been errr somewhat bizarre!! SWP what is that all about honestly..

[smokie36]

^ Maybe he has a sponsorship deal with adidas.....or his old man is well connected......or maybe Mancini had a word......

Maybe Capello thinks he's a great right winger......nah it can't be this one......

[Foxman888]

^ Maybe he has a sponsorship deal with adidas.....or his old man is well connected......or maybe Mancini had a word......

Maybe Capello thinks he's a great right winger......nah it can't be this one......

I agree your 4th option is just not comprehensible!! 3 Can't be right as SWP was behind Adam Johnson in the pecking order! Lord help us if Ian Wright is well connected, so it has to be No.1.....typical germans lol

[carmine]

^ Maybe he has a sponsorship deal with adidas.....or his old man is well connected......or maybe Mancini had a word......

Maybe Capello thinks he's a great right winger......nah it can't be this one......

I agree your 4th option is just not comprehensible!! 3 Can't be right as SWP was behind Adam Johnson in the pecking order! Lord help us if Ian Wright is well connected, so it has to be No.1.....typical germans lol

Including Wright-Philips at the expense of Adam Johnson was a strange one.

Why has a coach that in the past has always stated players are chosen on form seemingly made such a u turn in his thought process.

Michael Dawson is an in form player, but on the back of his past decisions this tournament he'll pick Upson, who has been very average at club level.

[DMC1]

The England team visited an orphanage in South Africa earlier today -

"It's so good to put a smile on the faces of people with no hope, constantly struggling and facing the impossible" said Jamal Umboto, aged 6.

[hansum]

The England team visited an orphanage in South Africa earlier today -

"It's so good to put a smile on the faces of people with no hope, constantly struggling and facing the impossible" said Jamal Umboto, aged 6.

[mommysboy]

Just heard David James being interviewed after the game.

He was asked " Fabio Capello has said he thinks the teams performance was greatly affected by the pressure your under"

James response

"Does he"

Then asked when he found out he was playing

"5 mins before I got on the bus, same as always"

Things must be pretty bad when you have players making it so obvious to the press that they don't agree with what the manager is doing.

At least 1 Sunday rag now reporting problems within the England camp. This must be the most plausible explanation form a terrible dip in form.

I think the pressure has got to everybody.

[Moonrakers]

god forbid it has to come down to this, but take note england. this is what i want to see when you pull on that shirt. a bit of pride and passion!

stuart pearce your a legend. please give those bunch of over paid prima donnas, a good kick up the backside.

Makes my hairs stand on end that does. What an absolute legend psycho is.

[StevieH]

whoops, dupe.

Edited June 21, 2010 by StevieH

[StevieH]

john terry scores again. pissed off at the insult to his patriotism and masculinity that was being stripped of the captaincy he went public in that press conference about 'having a word with the manager about a few things', something other senior players had understood was staying inside the camp and confidential. several other players not at all happy with him.

[dave111223]

Let's just hope we can give Slovenia a good thrashing and all this will be a distant memory.

[StevieH]

thrashing? on current form england will be lucky to get a draw.

World Cup 2010: Slovenia may shed their 'underdog' tag against England

Matjaz Kek's Slovenia side value a team ethic over individual flair – and they've played far better football than England so far

World Cup 2010: Slovenia may shed their 'underdog' tag against England | Football | guardian.co.uk

Everything you need to know about Slovenia's footballers was captured in the giddy moments following Valter Birsa's swirling wonder-strike against the USA on Friday. It was perhaps the goal of the World Cup so far and it put his team ahead in a vital match. But rather than embark on a solo glory charge he jogged to the touchline and waited for his team-mates. Then, as a group, they danced, sang and pointed their fingertips to the sky, like first-timers at a rave.

Although Slovenia allowed a two-goal lead to slip in the second half, that draw, added to their gritty and slightly fortuitous win over Algeria in their opening game, has left them top of Group C. Now, a point against England will be enough for Matjaz Kek's side to reach the knockout stages for the first time – quite an achievement given that Slovenia, by far the smallest nation at in this year's World Cup, has existed for only 20 years.

Between now and then, hours of vacuous airtime chat will be devoted to Slovenia. Adjectives will become cliches, and the same lazy assumptions – that England will somehow find a way to win because, well, they're England – will be trotted out. But it would be dangerous to dismiss Slovenia as merely plucky underdogs. Yes, their population is a pinch over two million, and they have only 429 registered professional footballers: but they have played far better football than England so far.

Their secret, if there is one, is Kek's focus on team ethic over individual flair. Back in the days of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenians were considered the most industrious and stolid of the six republics and, correspondingly, they mocked the emotionality and inconsistency of their southern neighbours. These national characteristics are reflected in their football. They play a solid 4-4-2, strive for "efficiency" – Kek's favourite word – and are rarely flashy.

As Kek told World Soccer before the tournament: "The trademark of our national squad is the team itself. We don't have any big superstars."

His captain, Robert Koren, agrees: "We have a great spirit and when we celebrate a goal it is all the team together," he says. "There is a great atmosphere in the dressing room and that is why we are here."

Nobody embodies that spirit better than Birsa. As a teenager at Gorica he was hugely hyped as the next golden boy of the Slovenian game only for his career to flatline at Sochaux. Others might have drifted but the 23-year-old has recovered and flourished at Auxerre, and in the national team, after switching from forward to the right side of midfield.

"He was a prodigy in the Slovenian league but got a little lost when he went abroad," says Andrej Miljkovic, a journalist for the Slovenia dailyEkipa. "But now he has became a father and cemented his place in the side he is our best player."

Birsa is adept with both feet and likes to drift infield behind the front two, looking to either squeeze a pass to his strikers or shoot from distance. As the USA goalkeeper Tim Howard said: "Whoever the England keeper is, he'll have to watch out for Birsa. We had been talking about him for a week and were worried about his shooting. We didn't want to see him tee one up and of course he scored. But he is a gifted player. You can tell that by the passes he made."

Slovenia's highest profile player is probably the FC Koln striker Mile Novakovic, but there is no prospect of him labouring under a sense of entitlement. At 20 he left Ljubljana for the Austrian amateur side Klopienersee, playing "in a meadow" as he puts it. He worked his way up through Klagenfurt, Voitsberg and Mattersee before getting his break with LASK Linz. From there it was on to Bulgaria with Litex Lovech before finally, aged 27, he joined Koln in the second division of the Bundesliga.

Against Algeria he appeared nervy, but against the USA he was back to his best, tormenting his marker Oguchi Onyewu and taking his record to 16 goals in 38 international games.

But it is Kek, Slovenia's coach for the past two years, who has made the biggest impact. His credentials were questioned after a dog's dinner of a start, but since steering his side to second place in their World Cup qualifying group behind Slovakia and then squeezing past Russia in a play-off, he has become a national hero.

"At first people doubted his abilities to be national coach but they don't any more," says Miljkovic. "People also like the fact that he is modest and family orientated. He is a great cook and a wine expert – he has his own cellar – and used to be a jazz DJ. He's a lovely guy."

In the last fortnight, however, relations between Kek and the 15 print journalists covering Slovenia, hitherto courteous and co-operative, have become strained. The team wanted monkish isolation, the media wanted access to players – but in the buildup to the Algeria game the first team was closed off, with only reserve players put up for interview.

That has given press conferences an edge, but it was still a surprise to hear Kek announce after the USA game: "I have a message for Slovenian journalists: I hope that your attitude improves. If not, there may not be positive repercussions. I hope you take pride in Slovenia's performances so far and I hope you will come with us and have a beer."

According to Miljkovic, Kek was perhaps trying to deflect attention from his side's second-half performance. But being top of the group is still a great achievement, and Slovenia need only a draw against England to qualify.

Koren believes his team would be "stupid" to play for a draw. "If we do that from the start we are setting ourselves up for a fall and we might as go home now. We must prepare ourselves to get three points. We are really compact and strong physically and, in attack, we are always scoring goals. We are full of confidence and have been playing good football for two years with good results. We are a good, strong team and it will be really hard for England."

Asked if he feared any England players, Koren said: "Nobody." What about Wayne Rooney? "What has he done so far? Nothing."

Slovenia are a team in form, having won seven and drawn one of their last nine matches since losing 2-1 to England last September, after Rooney was awarded a controversial penalty and Jermain Defoe scored from a deflection. Slovenia believe Wednesday will be very different.

"Maybe people have underestimated us," says the defender Matej Mavric. "We believe we can go through, and we need to believe it until the end. It was a big thing, given that we have only two million people, when we qualified through a very difficult group. Now we do not want to stop.

"We want to keep going for as long as possible. Beating England would be the biggest achievement in any sport since we became an independent nation in 1991." Only the most blinkered England fan would dismiss their chances of doing it.

[Geekfreaklover]

Aside from Gerrard in the first twenty minutes of the opening game, England have been appalling this tournament. I feel sorry for the poor sods who travelled there to support them. I predict a win in the next game before going out once we meet a half decent team as per normal. It would be nice to think there are problems off the pitch causing them to play like they are, but we all know it's not the case, and the press have to find an excuse other than the team just aren't good enough. It's the type of football they always play; slow, predictable. Anyone else noticed how long each English player takes on the ball compared with every other European and South American teams?

Edited June 21, 2010 by Geekfreaklover

[alfieconn]

Alfieconn many of these kids who are at academies at 8-12 will be discarded while many other kids will be picked up at 15 16 or even older.

Correct, but irrevelent to the article we are discussing.

Even the kids at the academy will be playing on full size pitches outside, at school or for local clubs

Incorrect, academy boys are not allowed to play for local clubs and i would imagine they would play on smaller pitches at school up until 11 years, obviously you don't know too much about how football academies work.

.

You seem to be agreeing that kids should play on smaller pitches and Hansun is arguing that this should be brought in nationwide for all kids. So if you believe it is beneficial for the kids at Liverpool to play on smaller pitches, how can you argue that this would not benefit all children across the whole country, if it is was brought in as FA policy.

Where am i arguing ? i am just making the point that basicly the article is incorrect, the reporter is saying that the demise of english football is down to young boys playing eleven a side games on adult size pitches which is incorrect.

The reporter needs to get into football academies to get an idea of the facilites and training the boys receive.

Hansum/Whichschool/East col sax/Happy Hammer seems to have this idea that because his mates down the pub son's can't get into academy football that the big clubs are only looking for big boys who can kick the ball a long way which is far from the truth.

In fact Hansum ideas and the reporters son being a goalkeeper are slightly related in that football clubs will generally look for boys to play in goal who they would expect to be a reasonable size when fully grown, which makes sense as when was the last time you see a 5' 8''goalkeeper.

[NADTATIDA1]

Terry meeting talks blocked

Defender advised not to bring up clear-the-air meeting

John Terry's attempts to highlight growing discontent within the England squad at a clear-the-air meeting on Sunday night appear to have been blocked by coach Fabio Capello.

Although there has been no official statement on the discussion Terry was expecting to have in a pre-planned team gathering, widespread reports have emerged suggesting Capello ruled out the idea of an open discussion to air grievances.

It is believed senior figures within the management team and squad persuaded Terry the idea of discussing the team's feelings would not go down well with Capello.

Terry revealed in Sunday's candid press conference that a group of senior England players - Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, David James, Jamie Carragher,Glen Johnson, Aaron Lennon and Peter Crouch discussed the side's problems over a beer after the disappointing draw with Algeria.

Chelsea defender Terry admitted he planned to discuss the situation with Capello to put the ideas of the players across to the Italian.

"We are in a meeting with the manager, whether he starts it or finishes it, the players can say how they feel and if it upsets him then I'm on the verge of just saying: 'you know what? So what? I'm here to win it for England'," said Terry.

Honest

"If we can't be honest with each other there is no point being here.

"It has worked in the past at Chelsea. We have a responsibility to ourselves, the manager and everyone else to voice an opinion and hope he takes it on board."

Terry conceded he felt a sense of togetherness has been missing from the squad, who are bored at the lack of things to do at their Rustenburg base and he believes their impromptu discussion after the Algeria game was good for some players to air their grievances.

"Maybe the togetherness has been missing at times," said Terry.

"When things don't go well it is important the group stays together.

"Usually everyone goes straight back to their room and stays there until the following morning. But on Friday, for the first time since the manager took over, he let us have a beer.

"We had one each, nothing more than that, and seven or eight of us sat there talking about the game. It was good to get things off our chest and express how we felt."

Edited June 21, 2010 by NADTATIDA1

[hansum]

Seems as if Terry's holding a grudge for getting his captancy taken off him.

[craigm16]

Its just been confirmed that Upson will start against Slovenia.. Wrong choice i think should have gone with Dawson, had a much better season then Upson.

[craigm16]

Seems as if Terry's holding a grudge for getting his captancy taken off him.

The way he was speaking in that interview on Sky sports news , I think he still believes he is the captain...

[dave111223]

Its just been confirmed that Upson will start against Slovenia.. Wrong choice i think should have gone with Dawson, had a much better season then Upson.

Agreed 100%, Dawson was excellent especially at the end of the season. Except he's probably had all his confidence systematically drained by now.

[smokie36]

11 Players no excuses come on England don't try to pull the wool.......

The mamager won't let the kiddies out to play......oh dear time to throw the toys out of the pram........

Its all about the poor choices made due to altidude training....umm yeah ok......

No chocloate bars allowed......

Wags banned.......

Not good enough.......nah world beaters the lot of 'em!!!

[imola]

Its just been confirmed that Upson will start against Slovenia.. Wrong choice i think should have gone with Dawson, had a much better season then Upson.

so you monitered all 38 totnm games + all 38 whu games and simple as that , dawsin had a better season,

do yuorself a proper 1 mate , get yourself a job at the currant ,as sports corro..

till you get some bonafide facts on here, do 1

ian holloway had a reasonble seson also, does that make him a candidate for cappellos post , yep ,do 1

les dawson was good, also , unfortunately, the w,cup is not at blackpool pier

walcott__ huddlestone,?????

in all honesty mate??? can you see emile heskey an that crouch freak collecting the world cup of of anyone???? exactly, c ya

and if you want an opinion, as opposed to yours , shouldve played parker. based on your assumption of having a god season.

in fact , why not just have twitchy in there dealing with it. , fark me ,, be just like 66,proper guarantee to win, with dawson gettin an hattrick,

love you muggy spuds:), you will defo win the champs league thank you ,