Capello may call John Terry’s comments a ‘big mistake’ but John Terry’s comments were for the best of England, he is an England fan like everybody else and he shouldn’t be forced to apologise to the media.
You can take away an arm-band but you can’t stop personalities shining through:
John Terry may not be captain anymore but can anyone really say there is another player in that England camp that wants to beat Slovenia and do his country proud more than John Terry? John Terry is a leader and more importantly he wants to win. Fabio Capello may be able to take away the captain’s armband from John Terry but he cannot take away his personality as the leader. In this kind of situation this is where you need strong personalities who have experience in situations such as England’s. At Chelsea Terry is the leader, the main man in the dressing room, he is entitled to voice his opinions and frustrations. The leader of the team is one that takes the criticism; he has the weight of the team on his shoulders. The skills that make a player a good leader is he takes whatever is thrown at him on the chin and leads a group of men into battle.
That is exactly what Slovenia vs England on Wednesday afternoon is, it won’t be pretty and it will be nerve-racking but would we really have it any other way? After-all we are England; as a country we don’t do things easily. The England World Cup campaign as disappointing as it has been so far has captured a nation more than we could have ever expected.
England and the Press:
John Terry has simply said exactly what every England fan and the British Media are saying back in England which is that Joe Cole has to play and the system needs to be changed with Steven Gerrard playing off Wayne Rooney. However, because John Terry is no longer Fabio Capello’s captain, he does not have the privilege to openly discuss England’s tactics in the media in front of 250 media journalists who are looking for a sentence to twist into a headline. He lost that privilege when he let down Capello and abused his power as a role model and the most important man in the dressing room. If John Terry wants to discuss England tactic’s he must do it one-on-one with Capello and as Capello has said recently ‘his door is always open’.
It says a lot when no other England footballer has come out and voiced their frustrations with the system. Frank Lampard who has an experienced head and seems to be quite a calming influence in the England camp has come out and squashed everything John Terry said making his fellow Chelsea teammate look like an outcast who is disturbing the team’s morale. John Terry has been forced to apologise for voicing his frustrations and personally I think that’s wrong, where is Wayne Rooney’s apology? Rooney made an emotional outburst and behaved like the Wayne Rooney of old, by lashing out at the fans that booed him and his team mate’s efforts on the field and used language that is unacceptable. Wayne Rooney has matured a lot as a footballer and as a person since he became a dad and a husband, but in this instant Rooney acted in a less professional way than John Terry did and he’s been let off and taken out of the lime-light. John Terry has been forced to apologise and take a back seat and that is not part of his personality but it is something he has to deal with because of his actions in recent months.
Playing in fear.... of Capello:
In the qualification group stage Fabio Capello stopped England playing with fear and to play with confidence. England’s performance at the World Cup has shown no confidence at all and almost looked scared to do anything in-case they make a bigger mistake than what Robert Green did. They are no-longer playing with fear of losing and upsetting a nation; they are playing in fear of upsetting Capello. Has the Green mistake had more of a mental impact on the other players than it has had on Robert Green himself?
Terry is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, no England fan has ever doubted that at all He has been one of England’s most consistent performers in the two games. He has done everything he could have done and it will be a big loss for England not having the partnership of Jamie Carragher and John Terry at the back against Slovenia. They are both captains for their clubs and are real leaders of men; they would have surely been the most vocal against Slovenia because that is their personality on a football pitch.
Fabio Capello has called Terry’s comments a ‘big mistake’, but at least John Terry spoke his mind, he is frustrated just like everyone watching it is. Steven Gerrard is the captain of England during this World Cup, and he is playing on the left hand-side of the midfield. Gerrard knows that his not his best position and so does everybody else, so why is Steven Gerrard not pleading to Capello saying ‘I am the leader of this team; play me in my best position and I will win you the World Cup’. We may not be hearing Steven Gerrard voice his frustration but you can certainly see it on the pitch, not once did Gerrard attack on the left, he came inside and wanted to take control and influence the game. This is again just like John Terry, this is Steven Gerrard’s personality; this is what he has done for Liverpool for years so why is Capello not putting him in his best position and letting him do it?
The proud Italian that Capello is has his ways; he could be described as ‘stubborn’ but the tactics and system used against Algeria is what worked for England in the qualification stages and nobody can deny that. What Capello seems to be forgetting is England played against minnow’s such as Estonia and Andorra in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley, I’m pretty sure that even lower league Premiership sides could easily beat these minnow nations with that kind of support. In the biggest football competition there are no such things as minnow’s, what has worked for England then may not work now, nations will raise their game against England and watch the qualification games and study what worked and work out how to stop it. New Zealand is the smallest nation there and even has two amateur players and they drew with the World Cup champions Italy and possibly could of won. Those New Zealand players will never play in a bigger game and that is exactly what attitude Algeria took against England.
Pressure as a Nation:
No-body can deny that Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and other big names have played in more high profile games than England v Algeria, but Slovenia v England is possibly the biggest game of their lives, this is more important that the actual World Cup final. If England does not win this game, there will no World Cup final. They are not coming home as winners or runners up, they are coming home as a team that failed to get out of the easiest group in the World Cup (on paper at least). The World Cup is bigger than the Champions League final and too me, it does not look these players understand that. If players cannot raise their games when representing England in a World Cup then when can they? Playing in the UEFA Champions League players are representing their club team, where only percentage of the nation support, for England the whole nation becomes one, and the players know this far too well. Every single fan of English nationality wants them to win, it does not matter whether they support Manchester United and live in Bournemouth; it does not matter whether you are born in Liverpool and a Liverpool season ticket holder or whether you support Stockport County. Football fans in England are now all sharing the same goal.
Everybody knows these players are good players, and they want these big name players to step up and show why they are rated among the best players in the World because the World Cup is where legends are born. The whole country lived off the success of England’s victory in 1966 and shared the heartbreak of losing to Germany in the Semi-Finals in Italia 90 and if England fail to reach the next stage in 2010, the whole nation will share the frustration of this World Cup for a very long time, everybody will remember where they were when England drew with Algeria or when Robert Green fumbled the ball over his own line against USA. In future years when younger generations ask what do you remember from the World Cup 2010 in South Africa? Fans will certainly remember those matches and where they were, because football is a religion and every England football fan is proud to be English.
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Too be continued, by Andrew Leese
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Friday, 18 June 2010
My England thoughts
My Thoughts on England:
Now one thing I have noticed about when people talk about England’s World Cup chances, and this may sound a pretty obvious statement but the only people who believe we can win it are English. We have all seen the TV adverts starring Ian Wright and Terry Venables for ‘The Sun’ hyping up just maybe England can add the famous second star above the England badge. Every former England manager, player and of course all fans say England can win this World Cup with this squad.
This week Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas came out and said England’s goalkeepers lack big game experience, this got a few eye-brows raising but and boy was he right. It’s not an unknown fact that neither David James nor Robert Green has played European football in recent years. Joe Hart will of course play at the highest level one day but Green and James are not experts when it comes to major European events. They are good goalkeepers, not World Class goalkeepers in the league of Gianluigi Buffon, Julio Cesar and the man himself Iker Casillas.
Now here’s my point, England is only hyped up in the World Cup because of the profile of names – such as Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Steven Gerrard, all big players in the big English clubs. But apart from those names and a handful of others none of them play in the top four clubs in England (including Liverpool in that and not Tottenham). The Premiership has become such a high quality league because of the high quality international talent the top teams have. It’s quite an amazing fact that seven of the American starting XI have featured or do feature in England’s top league. Yes there is a valid argument that if you take Wayne Rooney out of Manchester United and they are not the same team, the same argument is valid with Gerrard at Liverpool and Frank Lampard and John Terry at Chelsea. But what people forget is there are 11 players in a team and there are more foreign players than English players in team in the top four.
The big England clubs are dominated by World Class talent who are not English. Theo Walcott can be electric for Arsenal and look awesome at times but this is because the ball is being played onto the perfect spot by one of the world’s best creative midfielders Cesc Fabregas (who happens to be a European Champion and wanted by the best club team in the world). All Theo Walcott has to do is control it and play the correct ball or get a shot on target (which most the time he fails to do). However, give that same opportunity to team-mate Andrei Asharvin and he makes it look effortless.
This is exactly the same for players such as Steven Gerrard who had the perfect ball supplied to him from Xabi Alonso over the last three or four seasons, which in my opinion Alonso was the real star of Liverpool but does not get appreciated in a media dominated around English celebrity footballers. Now it does not take a genius to see why Liverpool and Steven Gerrard has struggled this season as Xabi Alonso now plays for Real Madrid.
On Saturday night the world got a glimpse of exactly what England should be capable of doing on a regular basis. Emily Heskey played a perfect ball into Steven Gerrard who did exactly what other team’s see when he is given the service he gets or used to get for his club. Gerrard is a very good finisher and that’s why he’s given the title of being one of the best in the world in his position just off a front man, and of course here comes the ‘but’. With Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard being forced to play together in centre midfield of a 4-4-2 formation (who by the way none of the top four teams in England play this formation) you are limiting their attacking instincts and they are playing different roles to the roles they play for their clubs. This is why Gareth Barry is so important because he is the one breaking up play and supplying the service to Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard who are responsible for supplying service to Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey and Aaron Lennon, or by scoring goals themselves.
After watching the German’s cut Australia into little sorry pieces England need to take notes and instead of passing the ball to player in ‘position’ you need to pass the ball into the space where the player is ‘heading from his position’ and play at a high tempo when attacking. That is how Wayne Rooney scored the majority of his 30+ goals this season, by moving into a position in the box and receiving the ball at the perfect time; only once did that happen for Wayne and he was very unlucky the ball was just too high for him. That is also how you expose the electric pace of Aaron Lennon; who must of been so frustrated at the poor service he got and where he got the ball, static and having to go backwards more or less every time instead of attacking the bye-line. When Aaron Lennon got the opportunity to do that England looked frightening and the US could not cope, on another day the squared ball across the 6-yard box falls straight to Rooney and not an inch to the side of an out-stretched right foot.
This could be an over-reaction and a slight bit negative as England did deserve the win in Rustenburg and credit must be given to the US team who were organised and closed down England’s key men well and restricted England to more half chances than full chances. If England is to be serious contenders in this tournament they must take those half chances and they must fall to the right players. With a draw from the first group game it is expected that England and US could both finish on 7 points and it is important to finish top of Group C with second place looking like they are facing Germany in the last 16. Goal differences will more than likely be the difference and England must beat Algeria by a healthy margin and hope that the USA don’t as Slovenia needed a late goal from a goalkeeping mistake to dismiss the Algerian’s.
Predictions and Germany v Australia
With four days completed in the World Cup Finals of 2010 the whole world has been waiting for one team to step up and say ‘right, we are the team to beat’. With two of the favourites England and Argentina playing in the first two days of the tournament the scripts were written for Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney or head coaches Fabio Capello and Diego Maradona to be the one’s everyone is talking about. But instead it’s 2006 runners up and 3 time champions Germany who have stepped up and really opened up this World Cup from a rather dull start.
It was Werder Bremen’s Mesut Ozil and Bayern Munich duo Thomas Muller and Phillip Lahm who really caught the eye and showed this World Cup is not just between Spain, Argentina and England. Germany was outstanding against Australia who could not get close to them and will be glad Australia’s rugby team beat England the previous day. Free-flowing football from the German’s is not something you come to expect but that is what we got. It was a performance of perfection, a performance that even Barcelona would have been proud of.
Germany were under-rated going into this World Cup with their squad not offering such star names as we are used to. They are missing Michael Ballack though injury who is normally their leader and driving force but could that actually proof to be a blessing in disguise after the influential but aging German has also been released by Chelsea this summer. After that performance the world certainly know the names of the new breed of German stars.
Every major competition the German team get written off and every time they perform; this is a team that have not lost a World Cup group match since 1994 and hold the record alongside Italy of World Cup final appearances including the last World Cup in their home country under the management of Jurgen Klinsmann. Now coached by then assistant manager Jurgen Lowe Germany have continued the same way Klinsmann’s team did, who really went for it and almost delivered their fourth World Cup victory.
So with Brazil, Spain, Holland and Italy all still the play Germany have set the benchmark for the team to beat; but we all know what happens when you peak too early in the Group stages. I wonder just how many bets the book takers have taken on Germany at 14/1, surely that’s worth a cheeky ten pound note or perhaps double with Miroslav Klose being the golden boot winner after scoring his 11th World Cup goal against the ‘Soccerroo’s’.
My Prediction: The Results
Before sharing my views on England’s performance against the USA let’s look at my predictions for England v USA. I predicted a narrow 2-1 England win and I could of quite easily got that right should England of put away their chances. I said an early goal for England would happen and England being of course England, they would become nervous and USA would come back into the game. One thing I don’t think anyone expected to happen was a howler by Robert Green who became a member of an elite club of England goalkeepers who have made big errors in big games, he’s in good company alongside David Seaman, Paul Robinson and most recently Scott Carson. It may be easy to blame Robert Green for his mistake but he is also the reason England did not go behind after a World Class save prevented Jose Altidore adding to England’s blushes with a powerful run and shot that was tipped onto the post by Green.
I predicted Steven Gerrard would play a big role in this England team and a super taken goal after just four minutes gives me one prediction I got right. I still don’t understand how Shaun Wright-Phillips got the nod after 30 minutes when James Milner left the field who had had not trained much all week after a virus, poor selection maybe from Capello? I would much rather see Joe Cole on the left wing and it says a lot when Glen Johnson from right back is creating much crossing opportunities on his left foot than Shaun Wright-Phillips himself. I’m still not a fan of his and I don’t think I ever will be. Dare I say it but will England ever fix the problem of the left sided midfield player?
One out of three is an average performance on the prediction front.
It was Werder Bremen’s Mesut Ozil and Bayern Munich duo Thomas Muller and Phillip Lahm who really caught the eye and showed this World Cup is not just between Spain, Argentina and England. Germany was outstanding against Australia who could not get close to them and will be glad Australia’s rugby team beat England the previous day. Free-flowing football from the German’s is not something you come to expect but that is what we got. It was a performance of perfection, a performance that even Barcelona would have been proud of.
Germany were under-rated going into this World Cup with their squad not offering such star names as we are used to. They are missing Michael Ballack though injury who is normally their leader and driving force but could that actually proof to be a blessing in disguise after the influential but aging German has also been released by Chelsea this summer. After that performance the world certainly know the names of the new breed of German stars.
Every major competition the German team get written off and every time they perform; this is a team that have not lost a World Cup group match since 1994 and hold the record alongside Italy of World Cup final appearances including the last World Cup in their home country under the management of Jurgen Klinsmann. Now coached by then assistant manager Jurgen Lowe Germany have continued the same way Klinsmann’s team did, who really went for it and almost delivered their fourth World Cup victory.
So with Brazil, Spain, Holland and Italy all still the play Germany have set the benchmark for the team to beat; but we all know what happens when you peak too early in the Group stages. I wonder just how many bets the book takers have taken on Germany at 14/1, surely that’s worth a cheeky ten pound note or perhaps double with Miroslav Klose being the golden boot winner after scoring his 11th World Cup goal against the ‘Soccerroo’s’.
My Prediction: The Results
Before sharing my views on England’s performance against the USA let’s look at my predictions for England v USA. I predicted a narrow 2-1 England win and I could of quite easily got that right should England of put away their chances. I said an early goal for England would happen and England being of course England, they would become nervous and USA would come back into the game. One thing I don’t think anyone expected to happen was a howler by Robert Green who became a member of an elite club of England goalkeepers who have made big errors in big games, he’s in good company alongside David Seaman, Paul Robinson and most recently Scott Carson. It may be easy to blame Robert Green for his mistake but he is also the reason England did not go behind after a World Class save prevented Jose Altidore adding to England’s blushes with a powerful run and shot that was tipped onto the post by Green.
I predicted Steven Gerrard would play a big role in this England team and a super taken goal after just four minutes gives me one prediction I got right. I still don’t understand how Shaun Wright-Phillips got the nod after 30 minutes when James Milner left the field who had had not trained much all week after a virus, poor selection maybe from Capello? I would much rather see Joe Cole on the left wing and it says a lot when Glen Johnson from right back is creating much crossing opportunities on his left foot than Shaun Wright-Phillips himself. I’m still not a fan of his and I don’t think I ever will be. Dare I say it but will England ever fix the problem of the left sided midfield player?
One out of three is an average performance on the prediction front.
Monday, 14 June 2010
Andrew’s World Cup Predictions:
(written 9th June 2010, before the World Cup started)
Winners: Spain
Biggest Disappointments: France and Portugal
Runners Up: Brazil or Germany
Dark Horses: Germany or Holland
Golden Boot Winner: David Villa
Wonder kid: Eljero Elia of Holland. Club: Hamberg SV
Star of the Group Stage that no-one will mention: Giovani dos Santos of Mexico
Player of the Tournament: Lionel Messi of Argentina or Xavi of Spain
Biggest star name that won’t perform: Frank Ribery of France
Over Achievers: South Korea
A cheeky little bet: Germany to win the World Cup and Klose to win the Golden Boot
Dream Team:
GK: Casillas
DEF: Ramos, Lucio, Puyol, Lahm
MID: Sneijder, Xavi, Gerrard
ATT: Messi, Villa, Klose
Other Contenders: Rooney, Ronaldo, Torres, Mascherano, Robben, van Persie, Malouda, Podolski, Iniesta, Kaka, Robinho, Park Ji Sung
Winners: Spain
Biggest Disappointments: France and Portugal
Runners Up: Brazil or Germany
Dark Horses: Germany or Holland
Golden Boot Winner: David Villa
Wonder kid: Eljero Elia of Holland. Club: Hamberg SV
Star of the Group Stage that no-one will mention: Giovani dos Santos of Mexico
Player of the Tournament: Lionel Messi of Argentina or Xavi of Spain
Biggest star name that won’t perform: Frank Ribery of France
Over Achievers: South Korea
A cheeky little bet: Germany to win the World Cup and Klose to win the Golden Boot
Dream Team:
GK: Casillas
DEF: Ramos, Lucio, Puyol, Lahm
MID: Sneijder, Xavi, Gerrard
ATT: Messi, Villa, Klose
Other Contenders: Rooney, Ronaldo, Torres, Mascherano, Robben, van Persie, Malouda, Podolski, Iniesta, Kaka, Robinho, Park Ji Sung
Friday, 11 June 2010
France will be getting a plane home & it's finally here!
First of all let’s focus quickly on the big day tomorrow, all the hype and anticipation ends for England fans and of course most importantly for the players and the manager. Tomorrow all the talking stops and the nation of England becomes one, with their own opinions and of course it’s the day fan’s become arm chair managers and in the famous words of Al Murray “Every England fan believes they can lead England to World Cup Glory”. Every England fan will have something to say about what players should start, what players shouldn’t, who should be England’s number 1 and who is better out of Lampard and Gerrard.
I am going to give a prediction of a nervy start for England and U.S.A being tight and organised with England eventually growing into the game with Steven Gerrard being England’s key man. An early England goal would be brilliant for the fans but in previous England times nerves can often get the best of everybody, we are England after-all. I think U.S.A will mark Wayne Rooney tightly and the sub’s that Capello makes and the extra added quality in the squad that U.S.A don’t have could be the difference between the two sides.
I’m going to predict a 2-1 England win with either Lampard or a goal from a set-piece opening the scoring. Joe Cole will have a big impact in the 2nd half as I don’t expect him to play from the start.
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Now moving onto the opening games from Group A, I have not seen either game so I can’t comment and give any type of opinions but regarding France's performance but the word 'unconvincing' does not surprise me at all! In my World Cup predictions for France I mentioned Florent Malouda would be their driving spark in central midfield and for him not to start and to be left on the bench after an apparent training ground bust up with coach Raymond Domenech then it's not really a surprise France lacked quality. Leaked stories in the press have made out that certain experienced players Florent Malouda especially, believes Thierry Henry should start and it seems Raymond Domenech has told Florent Malouda he's the coach and he picks the team. But the media will obviously not get the full story until after the World Cup is finished and Domenech will be out of a job already being replaced by Laurent Blanc.
With such drama and tension within the ranks of the French squad an early plane home after a disappointing group performance would not surprise me one little bit, I expect changes from France in their next game with the players Domenech wants to play and not the players who are impressing in training or the players in form.
I am going to give a prediction of a nervy start for England and U.S.A being tight and organised with England eventually growing into the game with Steven Gerrard being England’s key man. An early England goal would be brilliant for the fans but in previous England times nerves can often get the best of everybody, we are England after-all. I think U.S.A will mark Wayne Rooney tightly and the sub’s that Capello makes and the extra added quality in the squad that U.S.A don’t have could be the difference between the two sides.
I’m going to predict a 2-1 England win with either Lampard or a goal from a set-piece opening the scoring. Joe Cole will have a big impact in the 2nd half as I don’t expect him to play from the start.
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Now moving onto the opening games from Group A, I have not seen either game so I can’t comment and give any type of opinions but regarding France's performance but the word 'unconvincing' does not surprise me at all! In my World Cup predictions for France I mentioned Florent Malouda would be their driving spark in central midfield and for him not to start and to be left on the bench after an apparent training ground bust up with coach Raymond Domenech then it's not really a surprise France lacked quality. Leaked stories in the press have made out that certain experienced players Florent Malouda especially, believes Thierry Henry should start and it seems Raymond Domenech has told Florent Malouda he's the coach and he picks the team. But the media will obviously not get the full story until after the World Cup is finished and Domenech will be out of a job already being replaced by Laurent Blanc.
With such drama and tension within the ranks of the French squad an early plane home after a disappointing group performance would not surprise me one little bit, I expect changes from France in their next game with the players Domenech wants to play and not the players who are impressing in training or the players in form.
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
World Cup Predictions: Part 1 - Groups A-C
World Cup Predictions:
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, France & Uruguay
France:
I think France should be able to overcome this group but I don’t think they will do it easily. They have good strength in depth in pretty much all areas, but it all depends on whether the French squad are a team or a team of individuals. Centre back and central midfield looks a worry although it may be a blessing that Florent Malouda has been outstanding for Chelsea in that area. There is a lot of hype surrounding playmaker Yoann Gourcuff; Gourcuff is highly rated by coach Raymond Domenech and impressed for Bordeaux in the Champions League this season but Franck Ribery is still the key-man for France.
South Africa:
South Africa may struggle to get out of this group, although it is not uncommon for the hosts of the World Cup to do well in their own country and conditions. A lot relies on Everton’s Steven Pienaar if South Africa are to progress and it worries me that they have only three forwards in the squad of 23. A very unpredictable package but with home advantage I would not be surprised to see them surprise one or two.
Mexico:
After watching Mexico play England in a World Cup warm up match I was impressed with their tactical ability, but they seemed to lack a cutting edge. Carlos Vela who Arsenal have very high hopes for alongside veteran striker Cuahtemoc Blanco are their main strikers but I think a lot depends on the creativity of Giovani dos Santos who was not labelled the next Ronaldinho at Barcelona without reason. I think he may be one of the stars of the group stage.
Uruguay:
I think an unknown quality in this World Cup, not many people seemed to have mentioned them. There forward line is very impressive, obviously people know about Diego Forlan and what he can do and if Uruguay is quality of this group then Forlan needs to fire. The player I am most interested in viewing is highly rated Ajax player Luis Suarez, he already has 10 goals in 30 international appearances and scored 48 goals in two seasons since moving to Ajax from fellow Dutch outfit Groningen.
Qualifiers: France and Uruguay (on goal difference)
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea and Greece
Argentina:
Argentina is without doubt favourites for Group B and some people’s favourites for the tournament. There forward selection is unbelievably talented FIFA Player of the Year Lionel Messi, son-in-law of Maradona Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Gabriel Milito and Gonzalo Higuain. I’m sure every nation in the World Cup would like just one player like these in their squad. The two question marks with this team are do they have the balance to allow their attacking options to play? And secondly what on earth is Diego Maradona going to do in this World Cup? Leaving out Zanetti and Cambiasso still does not make any sense to me but hey! He used 75 players in the qualifying stages so I am sure the other 52 players he missed out are disappointed to have missed out; and people say Fabio Capello had problems having a provisional squad of 30. Argentina should walk this group, but should is a big word in football.
Nigeria:
It is a big blow for Nigeria losing no doubt their best player John Obi Mikel to injury so he won’t play any part in this tournament. He is a big player for them and has experience of major club competitions. Obfemi Martins is obviously their most well-known player, Premiership fans will know how much of a treat he offers and Chinedu Obasi is a high-related youngster for German club Hoffenheim. Joseph Yobo is another player with a lot of experience and will be a major influential factor for them in the group stage. Being an African based team may work in their favour.
Greece:
Now don’t ask me to pronounce any of the chosen squad but I do remember striker towering Angelo Chariesteaus from his winning goal in the Euro 2004 final against Portugal. There squad is very experienced with the majority of the squad being 30 or over and this could be beneficial to them. The retirement of legendary keeper Antonis Nikopolidis has left a big gap in this team. They have a chance of progressing but they have a very tough side of the draw, but I can’t write them off at Euro 2004.
South Korea:
Without a doubt the best nation representing Asia in this year’s World Cup. Manchester United’s Park Ji Sung is without a doubt their highest profile name, he is an indispensible member of this team and they will need his work-rate and his creativity to help them progress. Guus Hiddick obviously had a big influence on this team guiding them to the last four of the World Cup in their homeland beating Spain and Italy on their way before losing out to Germany. I doubt they can repeat this year as their squad lacks a finishing product in front of goal.
Qualifiers: Argentina and Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria and Slovenia
England:
After the disappointments of failing to quality for Euro 2008 Fabio Capello has brought back discipline, pride and most of all confidence to the England national side. England in major tournaments has played with fear and have lacked a tempo to their play. Wayne Rooney has emerged as the world-class player everyone all knew he would become and for the first time in many years England are not relying on David Beckham and Michael Owen. Balance in midfield is England’s key to success; they must take notes from when they played Spain and control the midfield if they are to have any chance of winning this tournament. With the pace of Aaron Lennon England have a new dimension to their play, this is something Capello likes and looks to take advantage of. The injury to captain Rio Ferdinand is a blow but England have always been blessed with cover at centre back; England need Gareth Barry to be fit to provide the midfield balance and most important of all the partnership between Gerrard and Rooney is vital in the later stages of the tournament.
USA:
With 10 players now playing or to have played in English Premier League you can tell why this nation has come a long way in ‘soccer’. Landon Donovan is their key man and if they are to qualify out of this group as expected then Landon needs to be on form. Clint Dempsey is a good player and has plenty of experience, but their key man in my opinion is goalkeeper Tim Howard. He is one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the Premier League and if USA keeps clean sheets they should have enough quality to edge their way out of the group stage. Don’t forget this team got to the final of the Confederations Cup and were beating Brazil two goals to nil before a Kaka master class denied them victory.
Algeria:
Now I won’t lie on this one, I’m cheating and using a bit of help from the FIFA website. Looking at the squad I can only name two players who I recognise and they have both played for Portsmouth this season and I don’t need to repeat what happened to them this season. FIFA’s profile of Algeria tells me “Algeria’s strength is in midfield, with Captain Yazid Mansouri spreading the ball around and forward-thinkers Karim Ziani and Mourad Meghni the most likely players to spark danger”. So I will trust FIFA (as it’s their World Cup) and agree that they seem to be the players to look out for. If Algeria is to gain any points in Group C they have to beat Slovenia in Game 1, otherwise, it’s zero points for Algeria and possibly quite a demoralising goal-difference against.
Slovenia:
Another team I have very little knowledge on, looking at their 23-man squad the name that sticks out the most is Robert Koren who surprisingly has been released from West Brom this summer. Other than that, I’m relying on the help of FIFA’s profile again. Considering they beat Russia in the qualifiers on their road to South Africa I am predicting they cannot be a bad side. I’m expecting them to be organised, with no real star names they will more of a team rather than relying on individuals. Striker Milivoje Novakovic scored five goals in qualifying so maybe the Cologne striker could be one to watch (thanks FIFA) and in more certain terms he will definitely be a commentator’s nightmare.
Qualifiers: England and USA
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, France & Uruguay
France:
I think France should be able to overcome this group but I don’t think they will do it easily. They have good strength in depth in pretty much all areas, but it all depends on whether the French squad are a team or a team of individuals. Centre back and central midfield looks a worry although it may be a blessing that Florent Malouda has been outstanding for Chelsea in that area. There is a lot of hype surrounding playmaker Yoann Gourcuff; Gourcuff is highly rated by coach Raymond Domenech and impressed for Bordeaux in the Champions League this season but Franck Ribery is still the key-man for France.
South Africa:
South Africa may struggle to get out of this group, although it is not uncommon for the hosts of the World Cup to do well in their own country and conditions. A lot relies on Everton’s Steven Pienaar if South Africa are to progress and it worries me that they have only three forwards in the squad of 23. A very unpredictable package but with home advantage I would not be surprised to see them surprise one or two.
Mexico:
After watching Mexico play England in a World Cup warm up match I was impressed with their tactical ability, but they seemed to lack a cutting edge. Carlos Vela who Arsenal have very high hopes for alongside veteran striker Cuahtemoc Blanco are their main strikers but I think a lot depends on the creativity of Giovani dos Santos who was not labelled the next Ronaldinho at Barcelona without reason. I think he may be one of the stars of the group stage.
Uruguay:
I think an unknown quality in this World Cup, not many people seemed to have mentioned them. There forward line is very impressive, obviously people know about Diego Forlan and what he can do and if Uruguay is quality of this group then Forlan needs to fire. The player I am most interested in viewing is highly rated Ajax player Luis Suarez, he already has 10 goals in 30 international appearances and scored 48 goals in two seasons since moving to Ajax from fellow Dutch outfit Groningen.
Qualifiers: France and Uruguay (on goal difference)
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea and Greece
Argentina:
Argentina is without doubt favourites for Group B and some people’s favourites for the tournament. There forward selection is unbelievably talented FIFA Player of the Year Lionel Messi, son-in-law of Maradona Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Gabriel Milito and Gonzalo Higuain. I’m sure every nation in the World Cup would like just one player like these in their squad. The two question marks with this team are do they have the balance to allow their attacking options to play? And secondly what on earth is Diego Maradona going to do in this World Cup? Leaving out Zanetti and Cambiasso still does not make any sense to me but hey! He used 75 players in the qualifying stages so I am sure the other 52 players he missed out are disappointed to have missed out; and people say Fabio Capello had problems having a provisional squad of 30. Argentina should walk this group, but should is a big word in football.
Nigeria:
It is a big blow for Nigeria losing no doubt their best player John Obi Mikel to injury so he won’t play any part in this tournament. He is a big player for them and has experience of major club competitions. Obfemi Martins is obviously their most well-known player, Premiership fans will know how much of a treat he offers and Chinedu Obasi is a high-related youngster for German club Hoffenheim. Joseph Yobo is another player with a lot of experience and will be a major influential factor for them in the group stage. Being an African based team may work in their favour.
Greece:
Now don’t ask me to pronounce any of the chosen squad but I do remember striker towering Angelo Chariesteaus from his winning goal in the Euro 2004 final against Portugal. There squad is very experienced with the majority of the squad being 30 or over and this could be beneficial to them. The retirement of legendary keeper Antonis Nikopolidis has left a big gap in this team. They have a chance of progressing but they have a very tough side of the draw, but I can’t write them off at Euro 2004.
South Korea:
Without a doubt the best nation representing Asia in this year’s World Cup. Manchester United’s Park Ji Sung is without a doubt their highest profile name, he is an indispensible member of this team and they will need his work-rate and his creativity to help them progress. Guus Hiddick obviously had a big influence on this team guiding them to the last four of the World Cup in their homeland beating Spain and Italy on their way before losing out to Germany. I doubt they can repeat this year as their squad lacks a finishing product in front of goal.
Qualifiers: Argentina and Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria and Slovenia
England:
After the disappointments of failing to quality for Euro 2008 Fabio Capello has brought back discipline, pride and most of all confidence to the England national side. England in major tournaments has played with fear and have lacked a tempo to their play. Wayne Rooney has emerged as the world-class player everyone all knew he would become and for the first time in many years England are not relying on David Beckham and Michael Owen. Balance in midfield is England’s key to success; they must take notes from when they played Spain and control the midfield if they are to have any chance of winning this tournament. With the pace of Aaron Lennon England have a new dimension to their play, this is something Capello likes and looks to take advantage of. The injury to captain Rio Ferdinand is a blow but England have always been blessed with cover at centre back; England need Gareth Barry to be fit to provide the midfield balance and most important of all the partnership between Gerrard and Rooney is vital in the later stages of the tournament.
USA:
With 10 players now playing or to have played in English Premier League you can tell why this nation has come a long way in ‘soccer’. Landon Donovan is their key man and if they are to qualify out of this group as expected then Landon needs to be on form. Clint Dempsey is a good player and has plenty of experience, but their key man in my opinion is goalkeeper Tim Howard. He is one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the Premier League and if USA keeps clean sheets they should have enough quality to edge their way out of the group stage. Don’t forget this team got to the final of the Confederations Cup and were beating Brazil two goals to nil before a Kaka master class denied them victory.
Algeria:
Now I won’t lie on this one, I’m cheating and using a bit of help from the FIFA website. Looking at the squad I can only name two players who I recognise and they have both played for Portsmouth this season and I don’t need to repeat what happened to them this season. FIFA’s profile of Algeria tells me “Algeria’s strength is in midfield, with Captain Yazid Mansouri spreading the ball around and forward-thinkers Karim Ziani and Mourad Meghni the most likely players to spark danger”. So I will trust FIFA (as it’s their World Cup) and agree that they seem to be the players to look out for. If Algeria is to gain any points in Group C they have to beat Slovenia in Game 1, otherwise, it’s zero points for Algeria and possibly quite a demoralising goal-difference against.
Slovenia:
Another team I have very little knowledge on, looking at their 23-man squad the name that sticks out the most is Robert Koren who surprisingly has been released from West Brom this summer. Other than that, I’m relying on the help of FIFA’s profile again. Considering they beat Russia in the qualifiers on their road to South Africa I am predicting they cannot be a bad side. I’m expecting them to be organised, with no real star names they will more of a team rather than relying on individuals. Striker Milivoje Novakovic scored five goals in qualifying so maybe the Cologne striker could be one to watch (thanks FIFA) and in more certain terms he will definitely be a commentator’s nightmare.
Qualifiers: England and USA
After the worse season Liverpool can remember, Rafa is the only winner.
After delivering Liverpool’s worst season for many years Rafa Benitez is the biggest winner, £6 million in his bank account and now manager of a treble winning Inter Milan. After going from 2nd place and so close to the title finishing just four points behind winners Manchester United one year ago to finishing in 7th place, crashing out of the UEFA Champions League and only qualifying for the Europa League because Portsmouth failed to register for a European Place after never believing they would get to the FA Cup Final. You could say Rafa Benitez was lucky not to be sacked before Christmas.
The five year contract Rafa Benitez signed in 2009 until 2014 made him virtually un-sackable! The very same contract that promised him such an embarrassment of riches should it is terminated. Now personally I am not a fan of Rata Benitez, and neither am I a fan of Liverpool who make me cringe when watching them due to their boring, slow unattractive football that only ever becomes exciting when Steven Gerrard links with Fernando Torres. But, you have to give credit where credit is due, Rafa Benitez is a winner, he may not be able to answer a simple yes or no question but he is a winner.
There is no secret in which Massimo Moratti’s first choice was to replace Jose Mourinho, he made that pretty public and within days Fabio Capello had met with the FA and had the clause in his contract removed that would of allowed him to leave England after the World Cup. So with this Rafa Benitez saw an opportunity, an opportunity created for him by Moratti, one phone call to the Liverpool chairman to discuss next season’s transfer budget [knowing their wasn’t one] and within that very night he had talked his way out of Anfield and had landed a nice £6 million pay off from his ‘unbreakable’ contract sending a message to Inter Milan chairman Massimo Moratti saying ‘come and get me’.
Inter Milan have gained a smart man that even when he loses, he still wins. Rafa Benitez has gained a dream opportunity. He has inherited a treble winning squad created by the ‘special one’ himself, a league that is actually harder to lose than to win and a transfer budget that he could of only dreamed of having at Liverpool even with new owners and a winning national lottery ticket.
Rafa will be able to play his way in Italy, his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation works in the country made famous for being organised and not conceding goals, and if he has any sense he will try his best to bring Fernando Torres with him.
The five year contract Rafa Benitez signed in 2009 until 2014 made him virtually un-sackable! The very same contract that promised him such an embarrassment of riches should it is terminated. Now personally I am not a fan of Rata Benitez, and neither am I a fan of Liverpool who make me cringe when watching them due to their boring, slow unattractive football that only ever becomes exciting when Steven Gerrard links with Fernando Torres. But, you have to give credit where credit is due, Rafa Benitez is a winner, he may not be able to answer a simple yes or no question but he is a winner.
There is no secret in which Massimo Moratti’s first choice was to replace Jose Mourinho, he made that pretty public and within days Fabio Capello had met with the FA and had the clause in his contract removed that would of allowed him to leave England after the World Cup. So with this Rafa Benitez saw an opportunity, an opportunity created for him by Moratti, one phone call to the Liverpool chairman to discuss next season’s transfer budget [knowing their wasn’t one] and within that very night he had talked his way out of Anfield and had landed a nice £6 million pay off from his ‘unbreakable’ contract sending a message to Inter Milan chairman Massimo Moratti saying ‘come and get me’.
Inter Milan have gained a smart man that even when he loses, he still wins. Rafa Benitez has gained a dream opportunity. He has inherited a treble winning squad created by the ‘special one’ himself, a league that is actually harder to lose than to win and a transfer budget that he could of only dreamed of having at Liverpool even with new owners and a winning national lottery ticket.
Rafa will be able to play his way in Italy, his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation works in the country made famous for being organised and not conceding goals, and if he has any sense he will try his best to bring Fernando Torres with him.
Monday, 7 June 2010
Argentina may have unlimited attacking options but how many of them can play at one time?
It says a lot about a national team when Carlos Tevez, outstanding for Manchester City this season, treble winning hero Diego Milito and wonder kid Sergio Aguero cannot get into the national team. It’s pretty safe to say all of these would walk into the majority of the nations in this year’s World Cup. Of course keeping these fantastic players out is the world’s best player Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain. Argentina seem pretty settled on a 4-4-2 formation but other than Javier Mascherano I have no clue who else is going to be in the starting line up against Nigeria on June 12th.
What Maradona must surely be thinking is how to get a balance out of this team and how can he fit in his world class stars! Well I hope this is what he’s thinking, after using 75 players in the qualification games you kind of get the impression other than Messi he does not know his starting line up yet. How this man can overlook and not select Javier Zanetti and Estaben Cambiasso who have been key in Inter Milan’s success in his World Cup squad, managed by a man who knows a few things about football I have no idea. Cambiasso and Zanetti would have added a huge deal of experience, given two outstanding defensive options, provided balance to let the attacking flair players create the magic that the whole competition must fear.
Two holding midfield players would allow Messi to play in his famous attacking wide right position, it would allow Carlos Tevez or Sergio Aguero the licence to play off the main striker; either Higuain or Diego Milito with exciting prospect Angel Di Maria or solid Maxi Rodriguez playing wide left. This would allow Maradona to have four world class attackers instead of two with security at the back and Juan Sebastian Veron would be able to give his old legs a rest.
But who knows there may be actually a method to Maradona’s madness. It could work out to be an advantage for stars like Messi, Tevez and son-in-law Aguero for the attention not to be on them but to be on the manager who if he does not deliver an impressive World Cup is surely out of a job.
What Maradona must surely be thinking is how to get a balance out of this team and how can he fit in his world class stars! Well I hope this is what he’s thinking, after using 75 players in the qualification games you kind of get the impression other than Messi he does not know his starting line up yet. How this man can overlook and not select Javier Zanetti and Estaben Cambiasso who have been key in Inter Milan’s success in his World Cup squad, managed by a man who knows a few things about football I have no idea. Cambiasso and Zanetti would have added a huge deal of experience, given two outstanding defensive options, provided balance to let the attacking flair players create the magic that the whole competition must fear.
Two holding midfield players would allow Messi to play in his famous attacking wide right position, it would allow Carlos Tevez or Sergio Aguero the licence to play off the main striker; either Higuain or Diego Milito with exciting prospect Angel Di Maria or solid Maxi Rodriguez playing wide left. This would allow Maradona to have four world class attackers instead of two with security at the back and Juan Sebastian Veron would be able to give his old legs a rest.
But who knows there may be actually a method to Maradona’s madness. It could work out to be an advantage for stars like Messi, Tevez and son-in-law Aguero for the attention not to be on them but to be on the manager who if he does not deliver an impressive World Cup is surely out of a job.
Why Theo Walcott may not be in form but he still should be in South Africa:
The word potential is a word that often gets over-used too much in football, especially if you’re an Arsenal player. When Theo Walcott burst onto the football map at Southampton people expected him to be a world-beater, linking him to Thierry Henry and even taking his squad number at Arsenal after a £12 million pound move; and this may still be the case. There are no excuses for Theo Walcott not to for fill his potential and become a world-beater one day, but people need to remember he is only 21 years old.
He has a great manager in Arsene Wenger who is looking out for his best interests but there is protecting him in cotton wool in the Premiership so he is full fit and fresh and then there is protecting him from World Cup heartbreak. Sven Goran Eriksson made a huge mistake taking Theo Walcott to the World Cup but in a way it has benefited him making him stronger, given Theo the experience of a major tournament and this definitely showed in the Under 21’s tournament before losing out to Germany in the final. So if those two experiences have allowed Theo to learn things then missing out on the World Cup this time around will surely make him stand up learn from this season, become an Arsenal regular, complete 90 minutes more often than not and most importantly become a man.
Personally, I think he should be in South Africa, yes his final ball lacks quality at times and yes Rooney got very frustrated with him in the two warm-up games and personally I think that is a big factor is why Walcott is not chosen. Capello needs the best service to Rooney if England is going to win the World Cup. But what Theo can offer is lightening pace, he has shown against Croatia that he can deliver and in the two games against Barcelona for Arsenal in the Champions League he absolutely terrified the Barcelona back line scoring one goal and assisting Nicolas Bendtner with another. Personally I think Aaron Lennon can offer a little bit more than Theo Walcott from the start but if Aaron Lennon does have an off day we have the express pace to worry teams later in games and if there is one thing England club team’s can do well, is score late goals at important times.
He has a great manager in Arsene Wenger who is looking out for his best interests but there is protecting him in cotton wool in the Premiership so he is full fit and fresh and then there is protecting him from World Cup heartbreak. Sven Goran Eriksson made a huge mistake taking Theo Walcott to the World Cup but in a way it has benefited him making him stronger, given Theo the experience of a major tournament and this definitely showed in the Under 21’s tournament before losing out to Germany in the final. So if those two experiences have allowed Theo to learn things then missing out on the World Cup this time around will surely make him stand up learn from this season, become an Arsenal regular, complete 90 minutes more often than not and most importantly become a man.
Personally, I think he should be in South Africa, yes his final ball lacks quality at times and yes Rooney got very frustrated with him in the two warm-up games and personally I think that is a big factor is why Walcott is not chosen. Capello needs the best service to Rooney if England is going to win the World Cup. But what Theo can offer is lightening pace, he has shown against Croatia that he can deliver and in the two games against Barcelona for Arsenal in the Champions League he absolutely terrified the Barcelona back line scoring one goal and assisting Nicolas Bendtner with another. Personally I think Aaron Lennon can offer a little bit more than Theo Walcott from the start but if Aaron Lennon does have an off day we have the express pace to worry teams later in games and if there is one thing England club team’s can do well, is score late goals at important times.
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