(UEFA) Football Thread - Football not Soccer

[MNM]

Iasius wrote:

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It looks that way:


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle6820875.ece

Just because Le Havre are whining doesnt mean its a similar case really though. Utd maintain that they have done nothing outside of the laws, and as far as I can tell, Le Havre are just upset they lost a potentially good player, which is understandable, but not the same as the Chelsea case.

[Jax]

Tomalak wrote:

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He's superb. As an attacking force he offers more than any English winger. The problem is that England don't have Dirk Kuyt and Javier Mascherano covering for him, and Capello plays a more conservative game than Liverpool, so he often gets caught out of position on counter-attacks.

Lennon offers a better force potentially but I will say but needs more chances. I don't think its a problem we don't have a Kuyt because covering Johnson ass is not there primary job, I want my winger to attack and my defender to actuslly defend and go forward when those break aways are possible not everytime he has the ball.

[Tomalak]

But then we know England are lacking creatively, and there are worries over both strikers and the goalkeeper. If Johnson is offering flair and attacking football, surely that's a good thing? Better than sticking with Wes Brown and hoping Emile Heskey or Carlton Cole come through with a goal before Rooney can get himself sent off.

[Jax]

There is no point in scoring if your going to concede more goals and it will happen against the top teams. ENG lack the abiity to score as many as Brazil, Spain etc so its even more important to we have a strong back 4. If your chasing a game or playing someone out of the top 15-20 in the world then Johnson is a good choice but defenders first and foremost MUST be able to defend.

Ashley Cole I hate to say it is the perfect example though his defending is slightly better than is attacking bu rightly so since he's not a left winger but a left back. If Croatia get any success on wednesday night it will be down the flank that Johnson will be covering.

[Tomalak]

England aren't going to win the World Cup anyway, because they don't have a goalkeeper, and Ferdinand probably won't make it to South Africa. It will be a pair of cloggers like Terry and Upson in front of a 40 year old David James or Rob Green. Playing it tight won't work against the top sides, because the defence just isn't anything special. Play at a fast pace, attack from the outset, and see what happens. You've got nothing to lose.

The other thing you have to remember is that Capello keeps picking Johnson, and so presumably instructs him to attack. Fabio obviously is happy with what he sees. Johnson's defending will only improve, but Wes Brown is not going to offer anything going forward.

[Garak]

I thought Lamps and Gerrard couldn't play together?!?!

Good on England for qualifying - I didn't get to see the game, but were they as dominant as the scoreline suggests?

[Jax]

Garak wrote:

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Good on England for qualifying - I didn't get to see the game, but were they as dominant as the scoreline suggests?

Yes very though if Heskey could score it would of been 7-1

[Jax]

my ratings...

Green (7) - Didn't have much to do but did fine when called upon. Two smart saves in a row despite Eduardo tapping it in though maybe could of held follow up shot.

Johnson (7) - Much Much better display at the back and good going forward including one assist. However at fault for letting cross in for goal and lucky not to give away penatly.

Terry (8) - Great display by the captain though looks better when with Rio and got messed up with no marking for the goal along with Upson.

Upson (7) - Far better display than saturday but not as good as Rio or as former cover King. A few sloppy passes but great in the air.

A.Cole (8) - Best left back in the world once again and only got done once but that was due to a slip and unlucky bounce of the ball off his leg.

Lennon (9) - Man of the match and potentially best display of his career, simply ripped Croatia to bits and unlucky not to score

Lampard (8) - Two goals and overall good play and getting better with Barry. However not 100% sure if hes better than Gerrard in middle due to lack of brunt power and pace.

Barry (7) - One of his better displays though of course will never be better than Hargreaves. Solid passing and good tackling.

Gerrard (8) - Best performance on left and two well taken goals. Didn't link up with Rooney as normal but still caused no end of problems and solid cover for Cole to make runs down the flank.

Rooney (7) - A little quiet for him but did nothing wrong too much when he got the ball and got the goal that his hard work over the past 2 games and Q/F campaign deserved.

Heskey (6) - Worked hard but didn't get Rooney into the game as much this time and we probably would of done fine without him. Missed 2 golden chances simple MUST SCORE or lose starting place.

[Starkers]

Hesky's just in one of those periods where he'd miss an open net tapping in from three inches away. Happens to all strikers, wasn't so long ago Rooney was in the same place. To be honest he isn't there strictly speaking to score goals (lets face it he's never been prolific) in the same way Beardlsey wasn't so much in the WC90 squad to score goals as to facilitate Lineker scoring goals!

I'm sure the unreasonable expectations will start now, especially after such a great qualifying period, but it will be interesting to see how we do against the likes of a Brazil. We certainly look a more solid, confident unit than I've seen us be in a long time, and Germany proved in Japan (I think) that even average teams playing well can make it to the final if they get lucky with the draw.

[HappyDayRiot]

The draw will be even better for them at this rate - there's not a small chance Argentina, Portugal and France won't be at the World Cup. That would be... insane.

Other teams who won't be there: the Home Nations.

[Roger Wilco]

HappyDayRiot wrote:

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The draw will be even better for them at this rate - there's not a small chance Argentina, Portugal and France won't be at the World Cup. That would be... insane.

Other teams who won't be there: the Home Nations.

France doesn't deserve to go to SA to be honest. From what I understand, they still have a good chance, but only because all the other teams in that group (except Serbia) suck so hard - especially Romania is a real disappointment. If France does make it, they'll need either a huge amount of luck or a major turnaround to not become a joke imo.

[Shaytan]

Roger Wilco wrote:

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France doesn't deserve to go to SA to be honest. From what I understand, they still have a good chance, but only because all the other teams in that group (except Serbia) suck so hard - especially Romania is a real disappointment. If France does make it, they'll need either a huge amount of luck or a major turnaround to not become a joke imo.

Tsss tsss tssss

Actually I enjoyed the last 2 matches.
Yesterday was a day of bad luck, it could have been worse with the GK expulsed after 9 minutes...

[Starkers]

HappyDayRiot wrote:

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The draw will be even better for them at this rate - there's not a small chance Argentina, Portugal and France won't be at the World Cup. That would be... insane.

Other teams who won't be there: the Home Nations.

Shame about Argentina, I was quite looking forward to us beating them under Mad Maradona!

[HappyDayRiot]

You also certainly would beat them too. Capello vs Maradonna... barely worth thinking about it.

I agree with Roger too - France have been dire and really do not deserve to make it. I cannot fathom how Domenech has kept his job all this time.

[Shaytan]

HappyDayRiot wrote:

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I cannot fathom how Domenech has kept his job all this time.

That is a mystery to us too. I don't like him since the time he coached the Bleuets (-25 years old).