*Sigh* Kind of disappointed by the England result, but putting it into perspective, it's really not the end of the world and seven points are enough for us to qualify. We should also score more than the U.S. in our remaining fixtures but even if we finish top of our group, the likely opponents in the last 16 will be Serbia, who are a pretty decent side with some good players.
After seeing the starting eleven, my initial worry was about Emile Heskey (who I didn't even believe should have been in the squad), however, he on the night was one of our better performers, although he did miss a glorious opportunity one-on-one. Steven Gerrard looked something like his best, nothing like the average season he's had by his standards. His early goal was the perfect start, and we are on our way to win the World Cup surely?! Glen Johnson also deserves a mention for his performance, although, he was not really tested defensively.
All I've heard during the build up is how good a manger Fabio Capello is, and he might still prove out to be, but tonight, I feel, he got some decisions horribly wrong. James Milner on the left was probably always going to start and has had an undeniably good Premier League season, but I think he is lacking at this level. Once Capello realised his mistake, he made the brave decision to replace him with an even bigger mistake, Shaun Wright-Phillips. He definitely should not be in the squad, and why does he have such a problem with Joe Cole, the most obvious solution to our left midfield problem? Moreover, although Walcott did not have the best of pre World Cup games, he did get a hatrick against Croatia in the qualifiers and is capable of putting in a performance like the one against Barcelona.
Mistake number two and Yes, I have been saving the best 'til last, Robert Green! How on earth has he managed to get into the England World Cup starting line-up? Joe Hart deserves the number one shirt on the back of his tremendous season, but I think with James' experience he is the only real option, it's not a difficult choice. The mistake today, just summed up my opinion on Green, I really do hope he is dropped by the next game.
Even though my opinion is worth absolutely nothing my starting line up would be;
In a 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation
James
Johnson, King, Terry, Cole
Lampard, Barry, Gerrard
Lennon, Rooney, J. Cole
Thoughts/Quotes/Lyrics of the Day...
Zac Efron: "I cannot wait for the States' game on Saturday - against Man United".
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I'm going to defend Green here. First of all, James was injured. So he was most likely going to start but the shoulder (?) injury kept him out. Also, I wouldn't start Joe Hart just purely because he is so young... Ok, young players need to step up to show their quality but if Hart had committed a mistake like Green then the consequences could have been much worse. Robert Green has the mental strength as he is much older.
ReplyDeleteIt is one of those things and those things happen to us more often than not. But, if I was Capello I would seriously give Green another shot in the next game just to show he still has faith in him.