The first England friendly of the year produced a two one away win in Denmark after going behind early on and a goal either half from Aston Villa pair Darren Bent and Ashley Young. On paper it's a good result and I feel like I should be writing a real positive blog entry on the performance and how it shows hope and improvement... but I'm still far from convinced over the future of England under Capello.
I will start with a positive - how impressive is Jack Wilshire?! You would not believe that was his first England start! It really shows that he already has Champions League experience and has played in the biggest and most competitive matches in the Premiership against all the top clubs. To me that is vital for a young player and there are not enough young players in this country who have this experience! Joe Hart is perhaps the only other young International player to consider himself a regular starter in such high profile games.
For this Arsenal and Arsene Wenger deserve a lot of credit for the way Jack has developed and become such a quality player already at still only nineteen years of age! His first touch is fantastic, he gets his head up quickly and uses the ball in a confident fashion. One attribute that stands for me already is his ability to use both feet and not the outside of his foot like Gerrard and Lampard constantly have done for years! The ability to use both feet instantly opens up the pitch and his awareness of what is around him is first class! You can tell he plays in the same club side as Cesc Fabregas who I rate the best and most complete central midfielder in the Premiership! This can only be a positive for Jack and England in the future.
There were three more players who impressed me in this friendly and they were Darren Bent, Ashley Young and Scott Parker who finally got a chance to prove to Capello they are good enough when fans have been saying this for nearly 18 months! Ashley Young took his goal very well and Darren Bent got into the positions you expect him to get into as a number nine; as shown by his goal. Scott Parker stood out for me in midfield in the second half! His ball retention is second-to-none, he dictates the way the game is played and as usual when there was an opportunity to get forward he did and supported the front players well. In my opinion all three players should of gone to the World Cup.. End of!
The reason I'm not seeing more than a couple of positives from this performance from this performance is simple.. this is a friendly and when it comes to the next qualification game this game will be forgotten by everybody but the fans! Yes Capello will have been impressed with players who have not featured much under him and here comes that word... BUT! Capello will still go with the try and trusted players of his reign and every other manager England have had since Sven Goran Erikkson. Gareth Barry and captain Rio Ferdinand (if fit) will all return to the team for competitive matches alongside Terry, Lampard, Rooney and Ashley Cole and we probably won't see players such as the three previously mentioned and Stuart Downing who showed real signs of intent when he replaced Theo Walcott on the right hand side and may be disappointed he did not produce a better final ball to Ashley Young on the counter attack.
England's place in the Euro's in 2012 is already in the bag. England will qualify at a canter and Capello will be happy and seek improvement for the 2nd major tournament of his reign - and of course all the hype will come from the media mentioning England's chances. But fans have heard it all before - if Rooney fires we score goals, Gerrard is the main man and we have four of the best defenders in Europe... YAWN! After such disappointment in the World Cup they will be a lot less expectation from fans about us really being good enough to beat teams such as Spain, France and Germany. Because let's face it.. England fans will always remember the World Cup group stage and how embarrassingly easy Germany teared us to pieces with an absolute master class performance!
I hope I'm wrong about Capello! Jack Wilshire will continue to grow and impress, Darren Bent will continue to score goals from less than 6 yards and I hope players such as Young, Dawson, Parker, Wilshire, Bent, Baines and Downing continue to perform and ask questions of England players who have more than there fair share of opportunities to win competitions and have no performed when it matters!
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Monday, 7 February 2011
#5 Update on 'The Bubble' Where it goes from here....
For a while now I've been thinking about how I can take this blog and my ambitions to the next level! I have always want to design my own template but I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty clueless where to start! I have now come to the conclusion I need someone to know what they are doing & my search for a willing graphic designer has begun!
I was linked to href="http://www.rugbydump.blogspot.com" earlier by a friend and was really impressed with just what you can do with this website! Especially the "home" "subscribe to posts" & "the follow on twitter" tabs! This is something I would really like to bring in in the future and use this blog as an official website rather than actually making my own website which can be tedious and frustrating!
I also want to look into making a 'Facebook' page for 'The Bubble' where instead of using my own Facebook I can post the blog entries from this site and can also link my Twitter towards it. That would give people the opportunity to people to write feedback and it would give me somewhere to post 1st draft, 2nd drafts and the final design! That would leave my Facebook as my own Facebook where I can post my own comments and opinions and allows me to use it for what a Facebook page should be - stalking peoples lives and finding out things you wouldn't know other wise :D
The features so I have I have thought of are as followed....
The life of a Stoke City fan - In an interview style asking friends and fellow Stoke City fans questions such as "First hero" and "Very first memory". This would be a different Stoke City fan each issue.
The life of a Cystic Fibrosis patient - Which would be written as a day-by-day experience in a blog format by my sister who lives her life everyday with the disease. This could be written as a day blog or a week-by-week experience.
The Real World: Life after university: This would be in an interview with a student who has graduated and is now finding their feet in the 'Real World' talking about subjects such as finanical difficulties, finding a job, moving home and there ambitions for the future.
More to be added.....
I was linked to href="http://www.rugbydump.blogspot.com" earlier by a friend and was really impressed with just what you can do with this website! Especially the "home" "subscribe to posts" & "the follow on twitter" tabs! This is something I would really like to bring in in the future and use this blog as an official website rather than actually making my own website which can be tedious and frustrating!
I also want to look into making a 'Facebook' page for 'The Bubble' where instead of using my own Facebook I can post the blog entries from this site and can also link my Twitter towards it. That would give people the opportunity to people to write feedback and it would give me somewhere to post 1st draft, 2nd drafts and the final design! That would leave my Facebook as my own Facebook where I can post my own comments and opinions and allows me to use it for what a Facebook page should be - stalking peoples lives and finding out things you wouldn't know other wise :D
The features so I have I have thought of are as followed....
The life of a Stoke City fan - In an interview style asking friends and fellow Stoke City fans questions such as "First hero" and "Very first memory". This would be a different Stoke City fan each issue.
The life of a Cystic Fibrosis patient - Which would be written as a day-by-day experience in a blog format by my sister who lives her life everyday with the disease. This could be written as a day blog or a week-by-week experience.
The Real World: Life after university: This would be in an interview with a student who has graduated and is now finding their feet in the 'Real World' talking about subjects such as finanical difficulties, finding a job, moving home and there ambitions for the future.
More to be added.....
Sunday, 6 February 2011
#4 CAPTAIN AMERICA TRAILER! **** YEAAAHHH!!! :D
#3 King Kenny, Chelsea and Wilshire as a Defensive Midfielder?
I'll start with my growing respect for King Kenny who ever since he has returned to manage Liverpool he has handled the club the way a club like Liverpool should be handled! Something I never ever liked about the way Rafa Benitez handled his press conferences, interviews and how he never acknowledged a mistake by him or his players. Kenny ever since he has returned has made his return about one thing, Liverpool Football Club!
The way he has handled the Fernando Torres saga is a classic example about how you handle a transfer when a player leaves, he's left and if you bring in one, or in this case two players to replace him you concentrate on them and what they bring to the club! Jamie Carragher mentioned this as well, Torres is not the first player to leave Liverpool he won't be the last, star players such as Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen have all left and returned with other clubs but the club and the fans will never leave - which proves the meaning of YNWA!
Next point is Chelsea, they were poor against Liverpool, Essien and Lampard were no where to be seen and I don't think John Obi Mikel is in the category of World Class when it comes to defensive midfielder players! That is one area I think they need to improve in the summer, the pressure needs to be taken off Lampard and I believe Essien is better suited to being a defensive midfielder where he can break up the play rather than dictate the tempo of the game.
In The Observer I read something quoted by Fabio Capello regarding Jack Wilshire and playing him as a defensive midfielder.... and I won't lie, it horrifies me! Because this too me, means Jack Wilshire is going to be playing a 4-4-2 formation alongside with Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard, neither who are playing well at the moment! Personally, this shows me Fabio Capello does not have a clue how to move this England team forward, but knows Jack Wilshire needs to be a central figure in his preparation for the European Championships.
What Wilshire will give England is the ability to unlock a defense, but the old expression 'you're only as good as the players you play with' comes to mind with this England team, where good players often disappoint after so much expectation! Jack Wilshire plays along side technically brilliant footballers such as Cesc Fabregas and Samri Nasri in his Arsenal team where keeping the ball and short passes in compact areas are what they do in there sleep. This is not how England play but it is how they need to play if they are ever to compete with the European giants and if they are do that, Jack Wilshire cannot be employed as a defensive midfielder!
The way he has handled the Fernando Torres saga is a classic example about how you handle a transfer when a player leaves, he's left and if you bring in one, or in this case two players to replace him you concentrate on them and what they bring to the club! Jamie Carragher mentioned this as well, Torres is not the first player to leave Liverpool he won't be the last, star players such as Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen have all left and returned with other clubs but the club and the fans will never leave - which proves the meaning of YNWA!
Next point is Chelsea, they were poor against Liverpool, Essien and Lampard were no where to be seen and I don't think John Obi Mikel is in the category of World Class when it comes to defensive midfielder players! That is one area I think they need to improve in the summer, the pressure needs to be taken off Lampard and I believe Essien is better suited to being a defensive midfielder where he can break up the play rather than dictate the tempo of the game.
In The Observer I read something quoted by Fabio Capello regarding Jack Wilshire and playing him as a defensive midfielder.... and I won't lie, it horrifies me! Because this too me, means Jack Wilshire is going to be playing a 4-4-2 formation alongside with Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard, neither who are playing well at the moment! Personally, this shows me Fabio Capello does not have a clue how to move this England team forward, but knows Jack Wilshire needs to be a central figure in his preparation for the European Championships.
What Wilshire will give England is the ability to unlock a defense, but the old expression 'you're only as good as the players you play with' comes to mind with this England team, where good players often disappoint after so much expectation! Jack Wilshire plays along side technically brilliant footballers such as Cesc Fabregas and Samri Nasri in his Arsenal team where keeping the ball and short passes in compact areas are what they do in there sleep. This is not how England play but it is how they need to play if they are ever to compete with the European giants and if they are do that, Jack Wilshire cannot be employed as a defensive midfielder!
#2 Drogba Anelka Torres = Creamfest
"If you can't stop him... sign him"
So the Sky Sports creamfest over Torres has begun, a video package highlighting Torres being the key to 'rebuilding the new Roman era' which was built many years ago when Roman arrived!
This now leaves Drogba, Anelka and Torres as a front three or a diamond with Anelka playing in the lines between the forwards and the midfield! This may suit Anelka who is more suited to playing with his front to goal rather than his back! This front three is basically what me and a close friend would call... a creamfest! It ticks all the boxes, it makes opposition fans and defenders shiver! It also makes Chelsea the ultimate team on 'paper' and you can bet there are a lot of wagon jumpers already on Football Manager 2011 and FIFA 2011!
There may just be one defender in this country who isn't shivering and is going to love the challenge of stopping El Nino and his Chelsea team mates and that is scouse legend and has hard as they come... Jamie Carragher who returns for Liverpool today. If you could bet on specials such as Fernando Torres being dumped on the floor in the first couple of minutes... there would be one name at the top of the list with very short odds... Jamie Carragher!
So the Sky Sports creamfest over Torres has begun, a video package highlighting Torres being the key to 'rebuilding the new Roman era' which was built many years ago when Roman arrived!
This now leaves Drogba, Anelka and Torres as a front three or a diamond with Anelka playing in the lines between the forwards and the midfield! This may suit Anelka who is more suited to playing with his front to goal rather than his back! This front three is basically what me and a close friend would call... a creamfest! It ticks all the boxes, it makes opposition fans and defenders shiver! It also makes Chelsea the ultimate team on 'paper' and you can bet there are a lot of wagon jumpers already on Football Manager 2011 and FIFA 2011!
There may just be one defender in this country who isn't shivering and is going to love the challenge of stopping El Nino and his Chelsea team mates and that is scouse legend and has hard as they come... Jamie Carragher who returns for Liverpool today. If you could bet on specials such as Fernando Torres being dumped on the floor in the first couple of minutes... there would be one name at the top of the list with very short odds... Jamie Carragher!
Saturday, 5 February 2011
#1 Getting started and tomorrow! (well when I wake up it will be offically tomorrow)
So I have decided that each post will have an issue number. That way every post has an identity and is easy to refer to, for me as the poster and for like the four people that will read this lol! :)
This issue of The Bubble is called 'Getting started and tomorrow (well when I wake up it will be officially tomorrow)'. Getting started basically refers to how I'm going to use this blog which I've kind of posted already but the main use of this blog is so I can have almost like a template of a magazine, but in a blog format! & by the summer I want my own template designed to perfection for a magazine that I will be publishing once a month in a digital capacity and one print out for myself to keep.
& the second part of this issue is about tomorrow! Just your standard Sunday in the life of Andrew (referring to myself in the third person is weird :s). Basically - move out of bed around 1 o'clock and watch football until it's time for a Sunday dinner! #I<3Sundays! :D
Now tomorrow is the first Ford Super Sunday without Andy Gray and Richard Keys on Sky Sports! which I won't lie, I'm amazingly happy about because Richard Keys is basically a puppet to make Andy Gray look good! Which don't work because everyone has an opinion - normally the opposite of Andy Gray because he's a douche!! So I'm firstly interested to see how it works and if Jeff 'The Legend' Stelling takes over Richard Key's role as the broadcaster and who is going to take over the role as 'there number 1 analyst' with the arrows and the 'talking points'.
Secondly... it's going to be all about one man tomorrow - Fernando Torres. Who is probably going to be the biggest TT (Trending Topic) on Twitter all afternoon, because that is how much the nation is going to talk about him and this match between his new club Chelsea and his old club Liverpool. The thing that tickles my pickle is... Sky Sports cream all over Torres and Liverpool at the best of times, maybe more than any other player or club in the Prem since Ronaldo left Manchester United. So now that he has joined Chelsea - will Sky Sports remain the same or will they change there view point? Because let's face it, Chelsea are not all that popular in this country (IMO) and very rarely have televised games on Sky unless there big games against United, Arsenal or Liverpool!
Personally, there is going to be one other player who may star tomorrow and that is Luis Suarez - Liverpool's new number 7! (yeah! it's a big deal) Personally I think he's a star and we will see how he goes on against Terry and Chelsea's other new signing David Luis - who is also a big deal - apparently! My bet is Suarez might just out stage everyone and King Kenny may have himself a little gem!
That is all!
This issue of The Bubble is called 'Getting started and tomorrow (well when I wake up it will be officially tomorrow)'. Getting started basically refers to how I'm going to use this blog which I've kind of posted already but the main use of this blog is so I can have almost like a template of a magazine, but in a blog format! & by the summer I want my own template designed to perfection for a magazine that I will be publishing once a month in a digital capacity and one print out for myself to keep.
& the second part of this issue is about tomorrow! Just your standard Sunday in the life of Andrew (referring to myself in the third person is weird :s). Basically - move out of bed around 1 o'clock and watch football until it's time for a Sunday dinner! #I<3Sundays! :D
Now tomorrow is the first Ford Super Sunday without Andy Gray and Richard Keys on Sky Sports! which I won't lie, I'm amazingly happy about because Richard Keys is basically a puppet to make Andy Gray look good! Which don't work because everyone has an opinion - normally the opposite of Andy Gray because he's a douche!! So I'm firstly interested to see how it works and if Jeff 'The Legend' Stelling takes over Richard Key's role as the broadcaster and who is going to take over the role as 'there number 1 analyst' with the arrows and the 'talking points'.
Secondly... it's going to be all about one man tomorrow - Fernando Torres. Who is probably going to be the biggest TT (Trending Topic) on Twitter all afternoon, because that is how much the nation is going to talk about him and this match between his new club Chelsea and his old club Liverpool. The thing that tickles my pickle is... Sky Sports cream all over Torres and Liverpool at the best of times, maybe more than any other player or club in the Prem since Ronaldo left Manchester United. So now that he has joined Chelsea - will Sky Sports remain the same or will they change there view point? Because let's face it, Chelsea are not all that popular in this country (IMO) and very rarely have televised games on Sky unless there big games against United, Arsenal or Liverpool!
Personally, there is going to be one other player who may star tomorrow and that is Luis Suarez - Liverpool's new number 7! (yeah! it's a big deal) Personally I think he's a star and we will see how he goes on against Terry and Chelsea's other new signing David Luis - who is also a big deal - apparently! My bet is Suarez might just out stage everyone and King Kenny may have himself a little gem!
That is all!
Change of profile & approach!
Just a few changes for this blog, which I have kind of disowned slightly! This blog is now my homepage, it's no longer Google or Facebook! This blog is where everything that goes through my head - which once upon a time got called 'The Bubble' lol. Because I do kind of live in one!
So now all my posts will be posted to facebook or twitter, well the ones i want posted! :)
This allows me to rant, rant and rant :D without character limits! & all things put on here will be my own personal opinion - as I my own person :D This blog used to be kind of structured and was based on essays which were well written and justified opinions, but, in the recent times I have decided to go away from writing articles with 'structure' and to just put down thoughts... a bit like answering the question of 'whats on your mind' from facebook when you update a status! That way, I can just post blog posts .. of thoughts and not have to cover all the angles etc etc!
So now all my posts will be posted to facebook or twitter, well the ones i want posted! :)
This allows me to rant, rant and rant :D without character limits! & all things put on here will be my own personal opinion - as I my own person :D This blog used to be kind of structured and was based on essays which were well written and justified opinions, but, in the recent times I have decided to go away from writing articles with 'structure' and to just put down thoughts... a bit like answering the question of 'whats on your mind' from facebook when you update a status! That way, I can just post blog posts .. of thoughts and not have to cover all the angles etc etc!
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