England World Cup Discussion Thread

[smokie36]

Surely against such a poor side Nad he will play a 3-4-3 and want to bag a few goals to ensure finishing top of the group....that is of course the aim now you can't beat the yanks on points.

there's no reason on earth to think that he'll change to an unfamiliar formation when two of england's best attacking outlets are johnson and cole from full-back.

Milner....Wright Philips no reason ....no conceivable reason for these choices then look at Xarragher. I'm starting to think he's just playing the whole thing by ear in this tournament.

I agree 3-4-3 would be madness but I wouldn't discount anything at this point.

[tigerfish]

from watching the game last night. one thing that stood out to me is, how vunerable we looked and out of position when the u.s. caught us on the break. surely "if" england progress to the later stages of the tournament, teams like brazil, argentina and spain are going to cut us to shreds. its all very well the likes of cole and johnson pushing up, but with little pace at the position of centre back and lampard and gerrard not knowing what the other is doing, its a big worry!

[rixalex]

What is more concerning is the inaction of Rooney,i would seriously think about resting him against the Algerians and play Defoe and Heskey

Completely disagree with any talk of dropping Rooney. Last night he didn't have a great game but then who did? World Cup is a short competition with few games and to get any sort of momemtum going in terms of strikers scoring goals they must be playing all the time unless injured or seriously knackered - i don't think Rooney is either.

Rooney has to start every game and only brought off if he's scored some goals and the game is won.

Heskey shouldn't start. Gerrard should be moved up to play in the hole. Lampard and Barry in the centre. Joe Cole and Lennon on the wings.

Calamity in goal.

Defoe / Crouch to come on second half.

[NADTATIDA1]

from watching the game last night. one thing that stood out to me is, how vunerable we looked and out of position when the u.s. caught us on the break. surely "if" england progress to the later stages of the tournament, teams like brazil, argentina and spain are going to cut us to shreds. its all very well the likes of cole and johnson pushing up, but with little pace at the position of centre back and lampard and gerrard not knowing what the other is doing, its a big worry!

Yes true but we have to reach the later stages first maybe by then if we do are confidence will be better?

[rixalex]

from watching the game last night. one thing that stood out to me is, how vunerable we looked and out of position when the u.s. caught us on the break. surely "if" england progress to the later stages of the tournament, teams like brazil, argentina and spain are going to cut us to shreds. its all very well the likes of cole and johnson pushing up, but with little pace at the position of centre back and lampard and gerrard not knowing what the other is doing, its a big worry!

Well as far as Argentina is concerned, they were being cut to shreds themselves last night, so if we play them we might as well give up bothering trying to defend and just try to outscore the bar stewards.

[hansum]

If we had a couple of decent forwards itd be an idea to put Rooney in central midfield as there is no creativity or urgency and he could definitely play there.

But in the last WC Italy were worse then dreadful in the early stages and pretty much throughout and they done on in the end.

[StevieH]

from watching the game last night. one thing that stood out to me is, how vunerable we looked and out of position when the u.s. caught us on the break. surely "if" england progress to the later stages of the tournament, teams like brazil, argentina and spain are going to cut us to shreds. its all very well the likes of cole and johnson pushing up, but with little pace at the position of centre back and lampard and gerrard not knowing what the other is doing, its a big worry!

Well as far as Argentina is concerned, they were being cut to shreds themselves last night, so if we play them we might as well give up bothering trying to defend and just try to outscore the bar stewards.

messi, milito, tevez, higuain and aguero vs heskey, crouch, rooney, lennon and wright-phillips?

[nickgonewalkabout]

It might be just me, but having watched England tie with the USA last night (this morning), it appears to me FIFA is continuing it's long campaign of systematic bias against England evident since the late '80's. Perhaps the USA bunged the linesman an attache case full of money for making the farcical offside calls against Crouch and Heskey (among other bad calls and omissions)! Not to mention all the shirt-pulling and flying boots to which the referee turned a blind-eye. We'd have an easy ride through our group if only we were on a level-playing field.

Why does FIFA skews its pitch for England?

[smokie36]

from watching the game last night. one thing that stood out to me is, how vunerable we looked and out of position when the u.s. caught us on the break. surely "if" england progress to the later stages of the tournament, teams like brazil, argentina and spain are going to cut us to shreds. its all very well the likes of cole and johnson pushing up, but with little pace at the position of centre back and lampard and gerrard not knowing what the other is doing, its a big worry!

Well as far as Argentina is concerned, they were being cut to shreds themselves last night, so if we play them we might as well give up bothering trying to defend and just try to outscore the bar stewards.

messi, milito, tevez, higuain and aguero vs heskey, crouch, rooney, lennon and wright-phillips?

The only thing the two sides have in common right now is having faced excellent goalkeepers who denied them 3 or 4 goals each. But Argentina have far better players than England.

[StevieH]

It might be just me but having watched England tie with the USA last night (this morning), it seems FIFA is anxious to continue it's long campaign of systematic bias against our side evident to me since the late '80's. Perhaps the USA bunged the linesman an attache case full of money for making the farcical offside calls against Crouch and Heskey (among other bad calls and omissions)? With the shirt-pulling and flying boots the referee turned a blind-eye to, we might have an easy ride through our group, but again we're not playing on a level-playing field.

Why does FIFA skews its pitch especially for England?

you were watching a different match to most i think. the refereeing has on the whole been fine so far. and what 'fifa long campaign of systematic bias' are you talking about? the one that causes england to be crap at penalties every world cup?

[smokie36]

It might be just me, but having watched England tie with the USA last night (this morning), it appears to me FIFA is continuing it's long campaign of systematic bias against England evident since the late '80's. Perhaps the USA bunged the linesman an attache case full of money for making the farcical offside calls against Crouch and Heskey (among other bad calls and omissions)! Not to mention all the shirt-pulling and flying boots to which the referee turned a blind-eye. We'd have an easy ride through our group if only we were on a level-playing field.

Why does FIFA skews its pitch for England?

Footie Forum post of the day?

[carmine]

from watching the game last night. one thing that stood out to me is, how vunerable we looked and out of position when the u.s. caught us on the break. surely "if" england progress to the later stages of the tournament, teams like brazil, argentina and spain are going to cut us to shreds. its all very well the likes of cole and johnson pushing up, but with little pace at the position of centre back and lampard and gerrard not knowing what the other is doing, its a big worry!

Well as far as Argentina is concerned, they were being cut to shreds themselves last night, so if we play them we might as well give up bothering trying to defend and just try to outscore the bar stewards.

messi, milito, tevez, higuain and aguero vs heskey, crouch, rooney, lennon and wright-phillips?

I hear you, but never underestimate the considerable handicap of having the insane Diego calling the shots.

[smokie36]

I hear you, but never underestimate the considerable handicap of having the insane Diego calling the shots.

He's managed to win the first game carmine which is more than Capello did. Maybe you can enlighten us as to your own manager's current medication?

[carmine]

I hear you, but never underestimate the considerable handicap of having the insane Diego calling the shots.

He's managed to win the first game carmine which is more than Capello did. Maybe you can enlighten us as to your own manager's current medication?

He must have smoked something yes, but atleast today he's hopefully back to normal........Maradona will still be mad.

[nickgonewalkabout]

It might be just me but having watched England tie with the USA last night (this morning), it seems FIFA is anxious to continue it's long campaign of systematic bias against our side evident to me since the late '80's. Perhaps the USA bunged the linesman an attache case full of money for making the farcical offside calls against Crouch and Heskey (among other bad calls and omissions)? With the shirt-pulling and flying boots the referee turned a blind-eye to, we might have an easy ride through our group, but again we're not playing on a level-playing field.

Why does FIFA skew its pitch especially for England?

you were watching a different match to most i think. the refereeing has on the whole been fine so far. and what 'fifa long campaign of systematic bias' are you talking about? the one that causes england to be crap at penalties every world cup?

Not sure what coverage you had, but the terrestial tv replays were very clear. I recall paritcularly the one made against Crouch towards the end of game within a few metres of the linesman who made the call, clearly showing him yards onside. I'll grant you, I might be focused on unfair calls made against England, mistakes being made all the time etc., but you only had to look at some of the genuine disbelief on our more stoic player's faces to feel once again that England might be being held up to an unfairly envious spotlight. FIFA is traditionally an organisation so rank with corruption that its only through our attenion that we hold them to a higher standard. As far as I'm concerned those standards fell too frequently last night, and I expect they will continue to do so in England's future games. Should we play Argentina again for instance, and Maradonna's hand of God asserts itself once more, remember this post. Remember too, FIFA is essentially a South American organisation. One that always guaranteed Brazil's participation mostly because they're powerful but also because their fans are fun to have around. We've not been in the good books down that way since we took back the sheep on the Falkland Islands, but lets not argue the point here, just keep an eye on it, Make your own mind up. BTW, are you American or English?

[macanello]

Reemember Capello is on 6 million quid a year. So he can afford any medication he so desires

[NADTATIDA1]

^and boy does he need it managing that lot !

[rixalex]

Just as an aside, i notice that Howard's tourettes problem seems to have got a lot worse!

As another aside, can anyone confirm what JacknDanny was saying about the Thai commentators refering to the American team as the South Africans?! I wasn't listening to the Thai commentary myself, and just wonder if it can be true. Surely not?

[smokie36]

I hear you, but never underestimate the considerable handicap of having the insane Diego calling the shots.

He's managed to win the first game carmine which is more than Capello did. Maybe you can enlighten us as to your own manager's current medication?

He must have smoked something yes, but atleast today he's hopefully back to normal........Maradona will still be mad.

Maradona was up and down the touchline more than the linesman....maybe he should do the ref exams!

btw carmine did you enjoy the clip?......got a few old Jimmy Hill favourites no doubt.

[rixalex]

Not sure what coverage you had, but the terrestial tv replays were very clear. I recall paritcularly the one made against Crouch towards the end of game within a few metres of the linesman who made the call, clearly showing him yards onside. I'll grant you, I might be focused on unfair calls made against England, mistakes being made all the time etc., but you only had to look at some of the genuine disbelief on our more stoic player's faces to feel once again that England might be being held up to an unfairly envious spotlight. FIFA is traditionally an organisation so rank with corruption that its only through our attenion that we hold them to a higher standard. As far as I'm concerned those standards fell too frequently last night, and I expect they will continue to do so in England's future games. Should we play Argentina again for instance, and Maradonna's hand of God asserts itself once more, remember this post. Remember too, FIFA is essentially a South American organisation. One that always guaranteed Brazil's participation mostly because they're powerful but also because their fans are fun to have around. We've not been in the good books down that way since we took back the sheep on the Falkland Islands, but lets not argue the point here, just keep an eye on it, Make your own mind up. BTW, are you American or English?

Myself i don't buy all this conspiracy talk, but will say that Crouch has consistently been targeted when he jumps in the box, with the refs taking any oppurtunity they can to blow the whistle. It's unfair. Defenders getting far too much protection just on the basis that they are half his size.

[rixalex]

messi, milito, tevez, higuain and aguero vs heskey, crouch, rooney, lennon and wright-phillips?

With the exception of Messi, that list doesn't impress me perhaps as much as it does you... i think in terms of the comparison the gulf is more to do with how average we are, rather than how great they are.

Still, if Rooney hits form and the others can up their game, i'd give us a shout. Big "if" of course.

[smokie36]

One that always guaranteed Brazil's participation mostly because they're powerful but also because their fans are fun to have around.

Well I always thought the South American sides took part in a Qualifying Group stage just like everyone else. This is the reason my team are not in South Africa and I can assure you our fans are much more fun to be around than some.

Maybe they qualified because they were better than the other countries. Just a thought....same for Germany Argentina England even the Australians are there on merit.

Its a strange concept to grasp I suppose and far less fun than conspiracy theories.

[rixalex]

One that always guaranteed Brazil's participation mostly because they're powerful but also because their fans are fun to have around.

Well I always thought the South American sides took part in a Qualifying Group stage just like everyone else. This is the reason my team are not in South Africa and I can assure you our fans are much more fun to be around than some.

Maybe they qualified because they were better than the other countries. Just a thought....same for Germany Argentina England even the Australians are there on merit.

Its a strange concept to grasp I suppose and far less fun than conspiracy theories.

Maybe it's just me but the South Amercian qualifying group has always looked pretty hard to fail to get through. Eight teams with top four qualifying and fifth team going into a play-off. Just look at the terrible campaign that Argentina had, and yet they still made it.

[smokie36]

One that always guaranteed Brazil's participation mostly because they're powerful but also because their fans are fun to have around.

Well I always thought the South American sides took part in a Qualifying Group stage just like everyone else. This is the reason my team are not in South Africa and I can assure you our fans are much more fun to be around than some.

Maybe they qualified because they were better than the other countries. Just a thought....same for Germany Argentina England even the Australians are there on merit.

Its a strange concept to grasp I suppose and far less fun than conspiracy theories.

Maybe it's just me but the South Amercian qualifying group has always looked pretty hard to fail to get through. Eight teams with top four qualifying and fifth team going into a play-off. Just look at the terrible campaign that Argentina had, and yet they still made it.

There are ten teams.

2010 World Cup Qualifying Fixtures Results Group Table :: South America

[rixalex]

There are ten teams.

2010 World Cup Qualifying Fixtures Results Group Table :: South America

I stand errected.

[smokie36]

There are ten teams.

2010 World Cup Qualifying Fixtures Results Group Table :: South America

I stand errected.

Are you one of the Carragher brothers? How is JohnTerry's mum by the way?

[nickgonewalkabout]

One that always guaranteed Brazil's participation mostly because they're powerful but also because their fans are fun to have around.

Well I always thought the South American sides took part in a Qualifying Group stage just like everyone else. This is the reason my team are not in South Africa and I can assure you our fans are much more fun to be around than some.

Maybe they qualified because they were better than the other countries. Just a thought....same for Germany Argentina England even the Australians are there on merit.

Its a strange concept to grasp I suppose and far less fun than conspiracy theories.

I can't cite anything specific on this Brazil point. Consider it heresay, but my source is a history of FIFA and the world cup from the early days to the 1980's. I was talking about early qualifcaton back in the formative years of FIFA. Today, qualification is no doubt thoroughly regimented. I picked this up in a documentry in England at some point a long time ago. The basic gist of FIFA's roots has stayed with me, though of course I'm wide open to a good bashing for furthering the point here. I'm not dissing Brazil in any way. They're a brilliant team. The details are in history and I think you'd have to truly be a scholar on the subject to know for certain.. I could be a victim of media slant or a combination of a number of things, but I stand by my basic concern that I see FIFA officials predisposed to bad decisions against England if they think they can get away with it. I've seen it in every world cup since the 1980's. Good luck to your team.

[Shotime]

That+English+player+with+the+buck+teeth+ought+to+get+them+fixed+if+he+wants+to+be+taken+seriously.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++What+a+conglomeration+of+a-holes.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++GO+USA!!

[StevieH]

One that always guaranteed Brazil's participation mostly because they're powerful but also because their fans are fun to have around.

Well I always thought the South American sides took part in a Qualifying Group stage just like everyone else. This is the reason my team are not in South Africa and I can assure you our fans are much more fun to be around than some.

Maybe they qualified because they were better than the other countries. Just a thought....same for Germany Argentina England even the Australians are there on merit.

Its a strange concept to grasp I suppose and far less fun than conspiracy theories.

I can't cite anything specific on this Brazil point. Consider it heresay, but my source is a history of FIFA and the world cup from the early days to the 1980's. I was talking about early qualifcaton back in the formative years of FIFA. Today, qualification is no doubt thoroughly regimented. I picked this up in a documentry in England at some point a long time ago. The basic gist of FIFA's roots has stayed with me, though of course I'm wide open to a good bashing for furthering the point here. I'm not dissing Brazil in any way. They're a brilliant team. The details are in history and I think you'd have to truly be a scholar on the subject to know for certain.. I could be a victim of media slant or a combination of a number of things, but I stand by my basic concern that I see FIFA officials predisposed to bad decisions against England if they think they can get away with it. I've seen it in every world cup since the 1980's. Good luck to your team.

you're simply wrong i'm afraid and it sounds like paranoia. fifa did not make england miss all those penalties, fifa didn't make wayne rooney stamp on carvalho's balls, fifa didn't get david beckham sent off, fifa didn't fail to tackle diego maradona as he slalomed through the english defence, fifa didn't make david seaman misjudge ronaldinho's freekick and fifa didn't make kevin keegan fluff a header from five yards out.

i'm no lover of fifa at all and i think they're a pretty bent organisation, but there's absolutely no case for them being biased against england. sorry.

[Shotime]

I+just+saw+they+had+a+shin-kicking+contest+in+England+yesterday.+Seriously.+Just+saw+it+on+the+telly.+Looked+more+interesting+than+futbol.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++What+a+conglomeration+of+sissie+a-holes.