Fabio looks set to drop Lampard and play Wilshire in a advanced role alongside Barry or Parker...GOOD. I would probably edge the start with Barry due to experience and ability on the ball over Parker. They are both slow-ish players abnd while Parker might be the better holding player, I think two inexperience international players is a risk in the centre and Wales should not pose a real threat in the middle so we will see more of the ball hence the need for Barry passing game. Of course when Gerrard comes back he will play the deeper role alongisde Wilshire and will do it well because Gerrard defensive abilities have always been underplayed but hes a bloody good tackler and the quarterback role in his advancing years will suit him like Scholes has done with United since 2006. Also it seems Milner will start on the right to keep Bale quiet with Young on the left...I came to that conclusion weeks ago, hey FA I am cheaper than £6 million per year . However Carroll set to start over bent is a real WTF since hes not match fit IMO and Bent has been scoring goals all season and looked very good against Denmark.
Yeah but I wonder if Bent is one of those strikers who is really good at club level but not the best choice at International level...much as Ian Wright was?
I wouldn't worry. Bale is out, so Wales will offer nothing. Rambo can't do it all himself. 3-0 England.
I thought that but against Denmark his movement was very good and scored the 1st goal, not too mention he scored in his last outing before that too against the Swiss. Bent over the other 3 Defoe, Crouch and Carroll a the moment should be a no brainer... Defoe - Lack of goals and match time Carroll - Extreme lack of match fitness due to injury, not 100% match fit. Crouch - Lack of goals all season and despite his scoring record, can make England a little stale in attack at times. Can come on if 0-0 with 20 minutes to go. --------------------------------------------- Look at this video Zidane owns...Even at 38, he's still got it
Easy game for England and we never had to get out of 1st gear but Ghana will be more of a challenge no doubt... Hart (6) - Had nothing to do, easy 90 minutes. Johnson (7) - Got forward well and 4-3-3 may suit him but sometimes was too far forward and a better team will expose him Dawson (7) - Nothing much to do but cleaned up well most of the time. Terry (7) - Same as Dawson A.Cole (7) - Got forward well and struck a nice balance with his defensive work. Parker (8) - Broke up the Wales play with ease and is clearly more of a holding player than Barry but needs to work on his skills with the ball Lampard (6) - Some decent touches but didn't get in any scoring chances throughout the game and Gerrard will replace him in the long run. Wilshire (6.5) - Played a few passes through the Wales defence for Bent and this role suits him more than the holding one. However caught with the ball a few times and clearly prefers to play with Arsenal players than England at the moment...Just needs time to mature Young (8) - Set up the 2nd goal and won the spot kick for the opening goal. I still prefer the direct play of Lennon but Ashley after a miserable past to his England career now looks one for the squad for 2012. Rooney (6) - Not in the game much and cannot play him on the wing from the start. Stupid to get book and will miss the Swiss game BUT Capello must choose in this formation Bent or Rooney...Not Both Bent (7) - Scored his 3rd goal in as many matches for England and looks the international player. Unlucky not to latch on to a few Wilshire passes but overall his movement was not as good as against Denmark in February. I would pick ooney over Bent in this formation in the long run but Bent is in the squad to stay. SUBS Milner (6) - Not much to do and I prefer to see him play centrally and not on the wing in this formation Downing (6) - Not on for long but had a nice run near the end and very unlucky to see his shot fly inches wide of the post. Jagielka (N/A) - Only on for minutes but expect him to start against Ghana. ---------------------------------------------- Overall we did what we needed but this 4-3-3 needs Gerrard in the centre for attacking intent and its Rooney or Bent not both. Adam Johnson and Theo Walcott when they return should thrive with this formation though.
Wenger and England collide again over Wilshire in the U21 championships in June and for once I am with Wenger on the matter. 2 years ago I didn't mind Walcott being used in the cup because he had stalled as a player and needed the experience BUT Wilshire does not need the experience because of the 40 games he has played for Arsenal and England this season... Also It gives the chance to players who need the game time like Henderson and McEachran. Wilshire needs a nice rest since hes going to become our next great hope in 2011-2012 ending at the EURO'S in Poland/Ukraine.
He has and said he wants to play but he's a 19 year old footy mad young man, of course hes going to say yes . I feel other footballers would benefit from it rather than Wilshire who doesn't need the U21 level anymore.
Fantastic game for a friendly. 1-1 was about right in the end. Two puzzles that sprang to mind while watching it though; 1. Downing MOTM? Really? Besides his part in the goal I thought he was sh1te. 2. Lescott - how on earth does he get anywhere near the England team? He either gives away pointless and stupid FKs, or worse still, gets turned inside out like a pub-league player by anyone with a bit of talent.
England had the first half but Ghana took the 2nd half and so many people in the media are saying how well we played in the 4-3-3 over the last 2 games but am not sold on it yet... Hart (7) - Made several key saves but needs to work on his kicking still. Johnson (7) - Is enjoying the freedom of the 4-3-3 but his final cross needs a bit more to it. Cahill (7) - Solid display but still not the final article just yet. Has looked good everytime hes put the ENG shirt on so far. Jagielka (6.5) - Solid enough game but didn't like going to right back and his lack of pace worries me. Baines (7) - Didn't get forward as well as Johnson but his defensive game was very decent and should remain the back up to Ashley until Gibbs actually plays games. Barry (6.5) - Decent with the ball like normal and made some decent tackles. However his lack of pace is clear to all and he doesn't have the engine possessed by Parker. Milner (6) - His best position is central but not playing this deep. Never really got going in the game and his recent form for ENG/City has me worried. Wilshire (6.5) - Some nice passes early on and ran at the defenders a bit more but faded as the game went on. Needs to push on more and clearly prefered to play with Parker than Barry Young (6.5) - In and out the game though early on caused real trouble and should of scored. Needs to take on players more and beat them like he does for Villa. Downing (6) - Some flashes of his ability with some neat passing and lovely control with the ball but faded after a decent start. Final cross not good enough and shouldn't start a match on the right, hes not Adam Johnson. Carroll (6) - Took his goal well but the rest of his performance was poor. Didn't link up well with others, slow on the ball and dropped FAR TOO DEEP. Darren Bent or Wayne Rooney are much superior options with only a lone strike in the system. SUBS... Lescott (4) - Just poor and should not play anymore for England with the likes of Smalling, Dawson and Cahill now in the squad with Terry & Rio. Gave away too many fouls, shows a clear lack of intelligence on the pitch and was done for the goal JUST POOR. Jarvis (5) - Never got in the game though he had the misfortune too play in the 2nd half when ENG were alseep, shouls of started the game. Capello also needs to observe he plays on the left wing for Wolves not the RIGHT. Defoe (5) - Isolated upfront and never got a sniff at goal but along with Caroll and Crouch, CANNOT play as a lone striker...Only in a 2 man strike partnership. Welbeck (N/A)
I can't wait for THE FA to pay off this fucking stadium because the prices are AWFUL. I am looking at tickets for Swiss game in June because its a saturday match (outside London going to midweek matches is virtually impossible) and the prices are just a fucking joke... Got to factor in the trip to London from East Midlands, where I live and god dam The FA might as well name the stadium "The London Only Club"
Have to say, I was thoroughly impressed with Cahill, again. Confident on the ball, not afraid of running it out of defence when he can, and not as flat-footed as Terry. Lescott - Completely agree - go with Smalling FFS. Thought Baines played pretty well as well, possibly his best game for England. Saw a post-match interview with Gyan earlier, he seemed to think that England 'dominated' and that we 'probably deserved to win'. Not quite sure on that one, but he came across as incredibly magnanimous. Re England games, I wish they still played a few at OT and Anfield - both of those grounds produces a much better atmosphere than Wembley. To be fair though, you could probably say the same about St Mary's, Villa Park and Pride Park when they all hosted England games.
When Wembley is paid off I think it would be nice for THE FA to have friendlies that are not against big nations at other stadiums to take the team on the road again. There are some wonderful stadiums in Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool, Sunderland that could host such games.
Also about the match I want to say how good were the Ghana fans, talk about great people to have following you The game felt like in was a World Cup Quarter-Final not a friendly. I wish our fans were as passionate, I remembe when I first started watching England in 1996, the atmosphere we could create especially at Euro 96. It seems to me over the last few years we have loss that and it pisses me off... English fans make some noise other than booing when at Wembley.
You won't be seeing matches outside Wembley for some time, including FA Cup semis. The agreement in place has these matches at Wembley until the middle of the century!