(UEFA) Football Thread - Football not Soccer

[Hermiod]

We've got better players than a lot of countries, but we still make the mistake of trying to pick the best 11 players instead of the best team.

There's nothing wrong with a center midfield partnership of Barry and Gerrard. Joe Cole is fine. Wayne Rooney needs to wake up and start playing at the level he did four years ago. Despite all the criticism they receive, Crouch and Owen will score goals given the chances. Terry and Ferdinand should be rock solid. Ashley Cole's lost it a bit but he's still up there in the top players in his position.

We need to stop pissing about playing center backs as full backs, the job is completely different. Glen Johnson has shown that he is good enough now Harry has sorted his attitude out.

And for the love of all that is holy PLEASE tell Wayne Rooney that he is a striker and to STAY in position!

 

[Jax]

We've got better players than a lot of countries, but we still make the mistake of trying to pick the best 11 players instead of the best team.

Spot on.

 

[Tomalak]

We've got better players than a lot of countries, but we still make the mistake of trying to pick the best 11 players instead of the best team.

Well exactly, so if Jenas can do a job, what is the problem?

We've performed at about the right level under Sven imo. Consistent qualifying and success up to the quarter final stage, and often very close to a semi final. We lack that extra quality that the likes of a Zidane or Rivaldo provide, and the mentality to grind out results as Italy did in 2006.

People point to Greece in 2004 as evidence that a well organised team can win tournaments, but England aren't well organised or determined enough, and think they are too good to do a Greece. That's presumably where Capello comes in, so in a sense the individuals don't matter as long as the team works.

I'm not holding my breath, and frankly it would be insufferable if England did actually win something. Can you imagine the reaction? Sir John Fucking Terry.

Terry and Ferdinand should be rock solid.

Terry's a liability. He shouldn't be in the side, let alone the captain. At club level Carvalho bails out his chronic lack of pace and positional ability, just as Ferdinand does for England. What a shame that King and Woodgate are made of jelly, as they are both streets ahead of 'JT'.

 

[Hermiod]

^Gerrard and Lampard can do a better job and they aren't injured.

 

[Jax]

My problem with Terry is over last 18 months he has become Injury prone and he's been caught out several teams due to lack of pace. Anelka in Feb made Terry look a joke for that penalty by leaving him for dead, Ferdinand may look a little casual at times but he uses his pace when needed and he's dam fast.

Personally if Ledley King was 100% fit and games under his belt, I feel he is a better defender than Terry and would suit Ferdinand as a better partner due to Rio liking someone with real strength like he has with Vidic.

 

[Tomalak]

^Gerrard and Lampard can do a better job and they aren't injured.

Than Jenas? Obviously, that goes without saying. But if they are injured, Jenas is the best alternative at present. In time Johnson might mature into that box-to-box player, but he's not there yet.

 

[Jax]

Found an internet link to watch the ENG game live, tested it out earlier for the U21 ENG win (2-1) decent quality so it will do for this one off time. ENG need to stick in a decent performance tommorow because fans are losing hope...

At the moment there are 35,000 unsold ENG tickets for the match, hell the U21 game at Wembley against Portugal is set to outdo a match for the senior level.

ENG are in dis-array with there own fans they need to win support back, I mean when was last time an ENG match wasn't at least 75% full.

 

[Daedalus12]

ENG need to stick in a decent performance tommorow because fans are losing hope...

Why do I get a feeling that there is way too much melodrama here? Those fans should relax a bit. It's only a friendly. The key is to have the team be in the best form just before the WC tournament.

 

[Jax]

^ maybe but the FA will be gutted at struggling to sell out games and I also think we still have tickets for our WC away matches, which normally go quick.

ENG need a performance more than a result tommorow and at least 4 points from the games against Andorra and Croatia but knowing us we will lose tommorow and away in Zargreb.

 

[Daedalus12]

ENG need a performance more than a result tommorow and at least 4 points from the games against Andorra and Croatia but knowing us we will lose tommorow and away in Zargreb.

Man I've never seen an England fan so depressed. You guys really need win the cup again.

 

[Jax]

The mood of the nation is that...

We didn't get to Euro 2008, played awful at WC 2006 and have been fairly flat under Capello. I have no reason to be happy about ENGLAND at the moment, all I want tommorow is a good performance.

If we don't get to 2010 then basically we are in danger of becoming a SCOTLAND 2.0...you slip down the seedings and then we find ourselves in Q/F groups for major cups against two major EURO teams like Italy & France and then getting to these cups on a regular basis becomes harder than ever.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

^ On the unsold seats thing, is it really surprising 30% tickets haven't been sold? Firstly, it's only a friendly. Secondly, there's a credit crunch on and not everyone can afford to shell out for such a game which, let's face it, no one cares about, not really. And of course you can bet some people will turn up on the day and buy on the door.

Also, this is the stupidest scheduling for a meaningless game I've ever seen.

But you know, 60-70% of Wembley is still a lot of people - it won't exactly be dead. When Wales and ROI played their Euro qualifying game at the Millennium stadium last year after Germany and the Czechs had already sealed the group, the 73,000 capacity stadium only had about 25,000 in it! Now THAT makes an atmosphereless match, not 60,000 or whatever 60% of 90,000+ is!

 

[HappyDayRiot]

ENG need a performance more than a result tommorow and at least 4 points from the games against Andorra and Croatia but knowing us we will lose tommorow and away in Zargreb.

Man I've never seen an England fan so depressed. You guys really need win the cup again.

I'm dreading the day England win the World Cup again. We still haven't heard the last of the last time they did it 42 years ago!

 

[Tomalak]

Tell me about it. I can't say I've ever really been an England NT supporter. All the tabloid crap about Beckham's foot and the Eng-er-lund stuff is enough to put you off for life.

 

[TheArsenal]

Putting aside the England discussion for just a moment - if true, and there seems to be some weight there - I find this to be one of the more surprising, if not opportunistic, transfers of the summer.

Silvestre set for shock move to Arsenal

Mikaël Silvestre, the long-serving Manchester United defender, is on the verge of foregoing a testimonial season at Old Trafford to become the club's first player to be sold to Arsenal for 34 years.

 

[Hermiod]

^Not buying that one until I see him holding a shirt up with his name printed on the back on Arsenal.com.

 

[Tomalak]

You get a decent back-up defender, meaning Senderos never has to play again, at a cost equal to Justin Hoyte's right leg, whilst United's defensive cover is reduced to John O'Shea and some Brazilian boys. And you get another member of The Arsenal Football Club Giant Weirdly Shaped Heads Association, to go alongside Gallas and alumni such as Dennis Bergkamp, Martin Keown, and the chairman David Platt.

What's not to love?

 

[Hermiod]

I wouldn't mind him as a back up but he'd better be willing to sit on a bench for a few years. I am just not convinced by the rumour at all. He doesn't strike me as the sort of player Arsene would sign. Arsene rarely buys players from other Premier League clubs.

 

[Tomalak]

True, but at £750,000 he represents minimal risk, and is an experienced premier league defender to provide cover until Nordveit is ready. He's French as well. Since he's been on the bench (or in the treatment room) for the last couple of years, that shouldn't be a problem. He might prefer to stay in England than go to Bordeaux or whoever else were in for him.

 

[Hermiod]

^Again, this isn't based on me thinking it's a bad idea, it's just me having lived through 12 years of Arsene's management.