Do or die

England captain Steven Gerrard:  

"It is a do-or-die situation. It would be an absolute disaster for this group of players to go home after the group stages - The key is to try and live without fear. There is pressure and fear. But the fear of not winning drives you on. We've come here to stay in this tournament to the end." - via the BBC

We know what we want to see. The players know what we want from them. If they can't find the passion today, they never will. No excuses. Nowhere to hide. Pressure? Of course there is pressure. You are playing for your country. Regardless, you should be able to thrive on it.

Some are saying we are simply not good enough. Citing the failures of our big name players who seem to freeze on this stage far too often. The English mentality draining hope once more, on and off the pitch. How many times do we have to revisit this before we finally quash it?

Pride, honour. The Bulldog spirit.

Just get the f*ck on it England.

It was an honest mistake

On reflection, I was hasty. Just a touch. Hasty to believe that there was an ounce of sincerity in John Terry's press conference. I simply took it for granted - face value - that anything he was going to say in front of the media was with the blessing of the gaffer, rather than his opinion. I ignored the signs of bitterness and politics, because, well, I assumed surely he wouldn't have the balls to be so deft, so subtle with delicately placed low-blow punches (or bull in a china shop depending on your standpoint). No wonder his forehead was drenched in sweat. But, softly spoken, he answered the questions and seemed to be fairly upfront and honest. Conspiracy did not enter my mind.

The aftermath to all this includes Fabio's comment on JT 'making a big mistake' and stating all they did was watch the Algeria match during the famed meeting and along with Lampard's debunking and defusing of all the media assumptions and their reading-between-the-lines leaves us with further contradictions. Lampard in fact cleansed the comments made by Terry, suggesting the media had taken it all too seriously, all too literally, adding their own spin on his words and reading too much into it. Mutiny the buzz word. When apparently, the reality of the situation is that all players are behind Fabio and Fabio rules the dressing room.

I guess, considering I dismissed any alleged conspiracy theory a little too casually here, perhaps there was an agenda of sorts that has now been stone-cold crushed by Capello. Terry might have been trying his luck. An act of desperation. Petulance. Doing what he does at Chelsea in the England set-up. Up to you how you wish to translate it all and then weigh it up with what Lampard said in his clean-up interview.

There is plenty of ambiguity to be found. And we know this for certain because of what Fabio stated ("At the meeting we saw the Algerian game, we saw the mistakes without comments. Afterwards there was no comments"). Delusional Terry planting seeds of discontent? Or was he just a bit thick about it, thinking that the meeting would be a two-way thing? And thus, this was his big mistake. Talking to the press about matters that should be retained in-house rather than shared with the journos. We all know how they can twist and how we (the fans) can knee-jerk. Slap on the wrist, nothing to see here.

You might prefer to believe that what Fabio (re: the meeting) was the real clean-up job here, masking the fact that it's all gone to shit behind the scenes.

'I swear I never meant for this I never meant...'

Hopefully, as of today, there is no disharmony within the squad. If there is, let's pray they are men, big and bold enough to place egos aside and unite for their country.

I hope we smash Slovenia. Because then none of this conjecture will be of any consequence to us going forward and we can finally talk about football again. Beautiful cross-ball passes, dinks, flicks, marauding runs and spectacular goals.

Three Lions on a shirt. It's about time we were reminded of what this meant and how best it can play out.

England Expects. Again.

The England players and Fabio have had their meeting to discuss the performances, lack of passion and no doubt selections, formations and tactics. Doubtful it will be confrontational. Can you see it being confrontational? As long as they all pull together and the gaffer resorts to back to basics (i.e. players playing in the best positions), we'll be just dandy. That and some clarity on player instructions. You know, the stuff that should have all been ironed out and understood clearly pre-World Cup.

It's obvious morale has been hit. Based on what we've witnessed. And it's all - from the outside looking in - farcical if the players are genuinely upset/lacking motivation with Fabio's selections and instructions. Farcical because of the contract extension given to him and the fact that apparently the FA (an alleged source) expect him to resign if it all goes to shit on Wednesday which is easily the most stupid rumour leakage to have broken into the news headlines. Because, you know, all this team stuff should have all been ironed out and understood clearly pre-World Cup.

Glitch in the matrix.

Tactically, positionally we are a mess based in the game against Algeria. And the fact that players were at times incapable of finding a white shirt with a simple pass would suggest they are equally uncomfortable on the pitch as we are watching them in our living rooms/pubs. Which makes them a tad too weak in the head. Fragile. IMO. It's hard to fathom. I know it's easy not to love certain England players, but I don't buy the suggestion that they don't care enough. Although it's unacceptable for them to sulk/feel sorry for themselves/be down-hearted on the field once the whistle is blown for kick-off. We're not French. And yet here I am weaving a thread of uncertainty and contradiction.

If it turns out we're just shit, then fair enough. We - as a Nation - will have to stop banging on about the sixties at any given moment.

The players are surely equipped enough to apply more effort and application, no? They can't be that confused that they can't adapt on field and play akin to their Premier League form.

So stick Gerrard behind Rooney and drop Heskey. If you're going to play Lennon, perhaps Henry Winter can request a DVD for Johnson on how best to aid Azza down the wing in a supportive over-lapping role rather than run into an offensive position constantly, leaving our little man stuck in right-midfield completely redundant. No wonder he looks scared. Don't play him at all (including SWP) if there is no desire to release either of them down the flanks. And Joe Cole is required because we lack spark. Obviously, we still need Rooney to stop trying so hard and allow himself the patience and composure that's required in and around the penalty box to do the necessary damage.

He's struggling with it. No goals for England in a while. He needs a hug and a quick word in his ear. Wonder if Harry can be drafted in for a cheeky prep talk?

Smile. It might never happen.

But alas, I'm sure nothing much will change. Other than Upson starting alongside Terry and probably SWP in for Lennon. Fabio is stubborn. Imagine if we get the starting eleven we are all banging on about wanting to see? Player power winning the day? Won't look too bright for Capello. At a push, we might see the Gerrard inclusion in the middle rather than stuck out left. I hope player power does win. At least then, none of the buggers can hide on the day.

Regardless of what transpires, it will come down to the players anyway. Pride and absolute determination please. None of that apologetic crap we got in the last game. Other nations are struggling too. But that's no redeeming excuse for our standards. In fact, it should be positively inspiring, because if we did manage to get our act together...ah, I won't go and say it.

I will however say this: Believe. I used that word a few times in this past season for Spurs. If the players don't have any belief, any faith - won't matter what the line-up is.

I know I've danced a little around the crux of the issue(s) at hand, but that's mainly because we are all making assumptions based on what we've seen, what Fabio said post-Algeria (lack of passion) and what John Terry said in the press conference today. It's obvious where the problems are - as a collective of players and also individually.

I don't care what is causing these problems because I have no direct input, neither do you so the responsibility is where it's been all along. With the manager and his players. Get them fixed, get them sorted out. And get focused.

Get a f*cking handle on it, and give us something to smile about.

Update on Monday, June 21, 2010 at 12:01AM by spooky

Article was written prior to this follow-up Beeb news item about the 'talks' between Fabio and the players. Click here if you've not read it. Seems that player power won't be winning in the form of conformity from the gaffer - but the players might awaken finally on the pitch and give us some tempo. We hope.

This is England. And it's not very good.

England 0 Algeria 0

What a shambles. I don't care when the team is announced by Fabio to the players. Whether it's two days before the game or five minutes before getting onto the team coach. If you're in the England squad then you should be prepared to do battle for your country, chests pumped out, full of pride and guile and courage. I can understand uncertainty can perhaps have a negative influence, but please get a grip. The players know what's at stake.

What we witnessed looked like a group of players drafted together last minute and asked to play ninety minutes which they weren't too fussed about doing, going through the motions disinterested and confused. The botheredness level stood at around 1 out of 10. It was just woeful.

We were the perfect illustration of fragmented. Formation was uncomfortable, some of the players completely ineffective others lost in their own shadow of past form. Too slow on the ball and too slow off it. Clumsy, sloppy. Rooney looked unfit - and its best we concentrate more on the fact he hasn't scored for 630 minutes rather than his ill-judged outburst to the camera post-final whistle. And yes, booing isn't constructive, unless you've just forked out 5k to travel to SA to see your nation represented by players earning up to 120k a week. We drew with Algeria. It's frustrating and fairly unacceptable when you can hardly think of one true threatening moment. A boo here and a boo there reminds us at least that some of the players do actually care enough to be pissed off about being jeered and react to it.

Apparently only two England players run over to the England fans to applaud them. I guess the booing was way too hurtful to hear for the delicate ears of some of our representatives.

4-4-2? Doesn't work. Especially doesn't work when you attempt to play all your best players rather than play the best players in their best positions. Gerrard is suited behind a forward, rampaging down the middle of the field. For all this desire for Barry to be fit and selected, I'm confused why a defensive player should be bestowed with so much importance. I'm not critical of Barry and his on the field responsibilities, I'm alluding to the fact that a creative spark (Joe Cole) should be the one ilk of player we need to be selecting, because offensively we appear to have no clue.

There was no cohesion or obvious style to our play. If Fabio means for one, it's lost somewhere between the training ground and the opening seconds of a game. 4-4-2 is not working. In the context of the game v Algeria, Fabio can quite obviously change things with the aid of substitutions. Lennon, who was not effective (not so much his fault other than his reluctance to run down the wing instead of cutting in all the time, but then he had little choice to do otherwise) but to replace him with SWP? I don't see the point. At all. Any player positioned in the role that Lennon is required to fulfil, based on the strengths Lennon possesses, you'd think the one thing to do is not starve the player of the ball. To then bring on a player who is similar to Aaron defeats the impact of changing things around effectively.

Fact is, in this England team, the way it's set-up, he simply cannot be picked. Massive shame considering what we all know he can do. And I can't see how SWP could possibly do any better considering the shape of the team and the rigid boring way we attempt to push forwards in routine and obvious stagnated fashion.

Heskey is Heskey. And for the record, the last time a Heskey/Rooney combo was effective was apparently back in 2009, but then I'm unsure how many times these two have played together since. Heskey alongside an out of sorts Rooney is painful. Defence was okay. James was fine. Terry wasn't perfect, but the back four was the only highlight for me, at a stretch. But then Barry did help out back there too. And Carragher made sure that in the final group game, we'll have to throw Upson or Dawson in at the deep end.

Pressure? What pressure? James, you know anything about that?

So, why are we so disjointed? Why are players lacking the required application? Are they unhappy with their manager? The formation? Is there a player dispute within the camp? Or is all this just part of the traditional 'we'll play crap in the opening two games, win the third and then get to the semi-final' master-plan? I'm knee-jerking for the sake of it because I can't fathom a more sensible logical explanation (i.e. we're rubbish).

I've said we would stumble to the final. A moment of madness, surely. But we all know one result, one positive result could change everything. I can't speak for everyone, but I'm bricking it.

We have to win the next game. No other options available. Drawing lots is not an option. Win. And win decisively.

England really need to start believing and trusting in each other. The fact we've failed to do so in the first two games suggests a frailty that is frankly disturbing. Did we perhaps over-rate our chances based on the qualifiers? When is the right time for that magical click to happen when everything sets up perfectly performance wise?

Dozens of questions, no comprehension with the alleged answers.

Still, onwards we go. And regardless of the empty days ahead before we face Slovenia, by the time our final group game kicks off, it will be once more heart-in-mouth and once more, singing/hoping that we turn up. If we do, we'll soon forget about all this. If we don't, batten down the hatches.

Until then, at least I can enjoy countless repeats of John Barnes dancing in a park with the cast from Shaun of the Dead.

England Knee-jerks, home truths and facepalms

I know it's one game, and we have a habit of being slow starters, but that was not exactly great against the USA. For several worrying reasons. Green, the risk (and failure) of starting Milner and King. Lack of imagination and guile. Far too many average, fragmented performances from our 'big' players.

My pre-World Cup prediction was that England would stumble all the way to the final, so I guess on performance, they're in the right gear to progress. I certainly think we will, considering the lack of quality possessed by Slovenia and Algeria.

Courtesy of the England v USA match thread over at Rumourwhores.com. Feel free to agree/disagree/discuss:

I'm watching another 'alternative' game here - England were 'in control' for max 10 mins on mine, with the US posing far more probs as the half wore on. The clever & direct interplay from Dempsey, Donovan & Altidore looked to be causing us far more probs than our blunt instrument of Heskey failing to free up the Roonster - Chopper

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England looked confident until that mistake (Green) as well. That one on one from Heskey though, you've got to seriously question his role after that haven't you? It's wonderful grafting for the team and bringing others in to play, but seriously, a one on one with the keeper is a striker's bread and butter. He never even made Howard work. It went straight at him. Dreadful. Shaun Wright-Phillips was completely clueless and Aaron Lennon regressed to his old no end product self. Glen Johnson was superb up that right flank for me though, some superb crosses in to the box, good support of Lennon and played well. USA well organised and both should qualify from here. - Kop

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Someone please find a retirement home for Jamie Carragher...what a useless old fart he is. Should have put Dawson in. England basically look the same lackluster side they did under Sven. - Spiderman

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"A fantastic save from Green" err, no it wasn't, again he didn't get his hands fully behind the ball and was lucky it came of the post. A good save would have been to have pushed it out for a corner to cut out the immediate danger. Thought on the whole we were the better team, and 3 points wouldn't have flattered us.

I'd like to see an England a little less prone to taking their foot of the pedal. After one of the better spells, the last 10 minutes seemed to me to be more concerned at not losing than trying to stretch. There had been some decent balls in from Johnson, Gerrard and Lennon - so with Crouch on the pitch I'd have liked to have seen more effort to get it out wide, quickly.

So I guess James will be in goal for Algeria - assuming his knee improves. Beginning to wonder whether there was any point to Hart going as - despite obviously having had the best season of the three - his lack of Internationals is just going to be held against him. - Skitters

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Right, that was a bit disappointing wasn't it? I'll start with the positives, I actually think we looked good for stretches of the game, perhaps not as much in control as ITV were making out as the US certainly threatened but we opened them up numerous times.

Gerrard took the captains role on well, he had a good game and looked menacing throughout. Johnson also played well, looking more of a threat than either winger and there was really no problems at the back until Carragher came on and got roasted a few times.

On the other side apart from Green f**king up (which is not in the least bit surprising, we've all seen him do it before) and Hart not being picked when he's been the best English keeper this year the most disappointing thing was how quickly we resorted to hoofing the ball. Everything good we did was along the floor, even Heskey main contribution was a clever round the corner pass and yet the closer it got to the end of the game the quicker we abandoned that and started smashing the ball up the field aimlessly, losing possession and looking more and more desperate.

The bit when we held onto the ball for like 30 seconds at the back and then just hoofed it up the pitch in the last minute was cringeworthy.

Get King back in a few days, put Hart and Joe Cole (for SWP or Milner) in the team and I'm still hopeful. - Zero

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I thought England were fair sh*t last night until the last 10-15 mins when it looked like they thought about the passing a bit more instead of rushing everything and struggling to put a couple of passes together. Still dont like the look of our defence down the middle either. With the players we have there a simple ball over the top and the two CB are in trouble .

How come Milner got taken off so soon? Yes i know he got booked, was he still ill or something. Overall the result wasn't that big a surprise to me we normally start off shit in the opening games and either scrape the win or draw. - Stacki

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Said at the time that King's inclusion was f**king insane and it's certainly looking that way now. Thought that Gerrard was very good, as was Johnson, and Heskey probably England's best player for me, which says a lot as I don't rate the guy at all and never have. Green's mistake was a total disgrace - under zero pressure, no-one even closing down, and he still manages to f**k it up. England will still qualify - I fancy them to tank one of Algeria or Slovenia - but it puts them under unnecessary pressure as they had more than enough out there to see of the USA handily. They need to play now with real intent though as if they are gunshy in any way they will come unstuck. I think Capello is too canny a manager to let that happen though.

I rate Capello as probably the most accomplished manager England have had since Robson in 1990. And remember everyone was calling for Robson's balls in 88 when England got dicked in every game. At the end of the day Capello's first job was to get England to the World Cup and he did that with absolute ease. We're at the business end of things now and ultimately he will be judged on how England fare in this tournament. I'm a hell of a lot more comfortable with him in charge than the likes of McClaren or Eriksson as I don't think he'll shy away from making tough decisions or shaking things up.

As for Joe Cole, I think he should defo feature in the next game. Milner looked like he was trying to force things and was wisely subbed so there's a spot for him on the left, where he's excelled for England before. - Chronic

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Call me knee jerk but is he (re: Fabio a canny manager)? People have been blowing smoke up Capello's arse largely because of that thrashing away to a depleted Croatia side, dismissing the ordinary performances and predictable defeats against any half decent team. It all echoes a bit of Eriksson's reign to me. Take last nights performance, it was exactly the same as we have always played - sh*te in possession, fast to adopt the long ball when things aint going our way, a lack of cohesion and a staggering lack of quality from players who have had the season of their lives for their clubs in Rooney, Lennon and Lampard. We played ok in little spells but that is simply not good enough on this stage.

Green has had his worst season for us but there is no way that stat is correct. It was an utterly embarrassing mistake which you will be hard pushed to find at the next 2 or 3 international tournaments. I totally agree with you about the 'wonder save' as well - he got lucky. I don't give a sh*t if he's dropped and it wrecks his confidence and his career. This is about England winning the World Cup (yeah, I know, don't laugh), not Rob Green's mental state. It's ok anyway, he prepares for making a mistake before a game.

Anybody else think we were crying out for Joey Cole last night? Oh, and Carragher. Somebody put this **** down. He was never that f**king good in the first place. - Chazza

For more discussion and verbals, check out Rumourwhores.com here. Fans of all clubs welcome. Back to England...

Do we drop Green for James or perhaps Hart? What's the answer to the CB conundrum with King out (how long for - depends on what report you believe)? Heskey does a job for England but if fails to impress does that have a detrimental effect on the performance of Rooney? And If Heskey is there to aid Ron and bring other players into the game when holding up the ball, does it really out-weigh the ability to hold his nerves (rather than the ball) and take a chance in front of goal when presented with one? Lennon was well marked and rarely had the ball played into space in front of him (it's International football, so it's not going to be easy) so if he's doubled-up on, surely there's more space down the middle to exploit? Was SWP the answer on the opposite side? Not on yesterdays performance. Gerrard and Lampard work? Seemed too. Gerrard played with heart, with Lampard doing well to fulfil his Barryesque duties. But was that enough? No deflected shots or runs from Frank, so was his role too contained?

It's tricky not to over-analyse, because that's what we do thanks to the traditional expecation that England will turn up and turn on. The reality is, we never do but that doesn't mean we should be dismissing our chances just yet. And considering this is the World Cup, we could have had a bit more assured swagger and intent. I'm happy to get this type of result/performance out of the way first game, and get it right in the next one. As long as we get it right, of course.

Roll on the next 90 minutes of torture.

Dawson and England

Dawson; gutted and confused with the fact he failed to win a cap pre-squad announcement during England's two friendlies. I bet he's a little (just a little) overjoyed with his call-up in place of the broken Ferdinand (last minute of training, proper merked). Which also means, pressure on Ledley who should be starting alongside Terry. I'm sure they will form a wonderful partnership, what with, you know, Terry...being a...such a nice bloke and stuff.

/cough

I guess Fabio must be wishing now (hindsight anyone?) that he did test Dawson, because if (and I hope not) we lose another CB during the competition, it's a baptism of fire for the lad if asked to participate. Although I'm sure Upson would get the go-ahead (it's based on experience not form - it's the England way). Still, another Spurs player travels. What's that now? Five? It's rhetorical. I can count.

Regardless of the back-door (ooh) entry to South Africa - congrats. It's deserved. The footballing Gods obviously want him there.

I bet his missus is gutted.

Update on Friday, June 4, 2010 at 10:38PM by spooky

Nice article from the Guardian.

New England anthem

Not sure it will catch on like Three Lions. But nice to see John Terry and Ashley Cole give up some of their valuable time to star in the video.

Anglo-Spurs backbone

King. Dawson. Lennon. Defoe. Crouch. Huddlestone. Six of the best. All called to the provisional England squad by Fabio. Out of the six, I'd say two are certain. Two deserve to go. One of the remaining two should be awarded with the honour of being part of the final 23. Leaving just the one who will miss out, but might well be a candidate for the future.

Rewards for all regardless for a fantastic season. Tottenham Hotspur, the club with the English backbone. And bionic knee. It's a bit early doors, what with the season only just ending (well, almost - still the FA Cup to play out and Pompeys certain win over Chelsea) but I'm beginning to get the itch for the World Cup. I always do. Not that I'm ever obsessed with qualifying matches, but when we're involved in the main show it's fairly difficult to ignore it. As much dislike as I have for the likes of Terry, Gerrard, Lampard etcetc, I'm hoping the Tottenham contingent do us  proud, to prolong the wide smile on my face through the summer and into next season.

King - Utterly deserves an England swansong. Proved his knee can survive 4 consecutive games on the trot. Colossus of a player and the best we have at the back.

Dawson - No pace. But makes up for it in the way of determination and bravery. A sort of raw version of John Terry. Just without the **** qualities. Proper 110 percenter is our Daws.

Lennon - Only just back. Has to go because he's best at what he does. He's no speed merchant (unlike Theo). He can pass and cross (unlike Theo). He doesn't have a book out and doesn't have his photo plastered over the celeb pages of tabloids (unlike Theo). He's a player who has improved and developed and terrorised sides prior to his injury (unlike Theo). And now he's back, granted he's only had a couple of appearances, but rather than be nothing more than an option asked to run directly at tired legs (Theo) in the final stages of a game, he can start and be used effectively over 90 minutes. Does concern me though, this nations obsession with Walcott. Johnson, SWP, Walcott, Lennon. Decisions, decisions, hey Fabio?

Defoe and Crouch - The best of the rest that England have available to them. Which isn't a lot. Heskey? Rather Crouch. Bent? Okay, let's repeat ourselves again - he feeds off scraps and counter-attacks, loose balls in the box. Ask him to play as part of a cohesive unit, inter-linking, intelligent moving...no chance. So yeah, JD and Crouch are far superior options. Even if JD has gone off the boil, and tbh lacks the ability to play himself onside at times.

Huddlestone - Mobility. Lack of adaptability. He'll only be able to play one way and we'd have to accommodate him. In the right game though, he could ping the ball about Hoddlesque. And he has proven more than capable at times, but arguably lacks the top level experience and 'testing' to be worthy of a risk in a high-pressured game. Does deserves his place in the final 30 though. Just think he's the most obvious to be left behind.

Good luck to all of them. In Fabio we trust, right?

Brings me nicely onto the below youtube clip. New Carlsberg advert. I must be more easy than a Sunday morning, because the hairs on the back of my neck stand up watching this. And I can't be the only person who gets a little choked up with the lovely Bobby Robson touch.

Crouchie Conundrum

England's super-sub, Tottenham's super-drab...

Crouch for England and Crouch for Tottenham appear to be two completely different entities. One is a goal scoring machine, confident, always in the right place at the right time and finding the target with simplicity thanks to his confident positioning. The other doesn't quite hit the same giddy heights (insert 'tall' joke here). But then that's no shocker.

Placed into a forward's forward position (that's really forward) and asked to run into the box looking for the ball will pretty much result with him (probably) finding the net. Much like he did last night, much like he does all the time for Engerland. Play him alongside a main striker (i.e. up front with Defoe) and it probably won't work out too good. In fact we know it doesn't quite work out good.

This might have a lot to do with the hoofing up to him some of our (Spurs) players are obsessed with doing, even though he is more than capable of playing with the ball at his feet, but a Robbie Keane link-up player (at his peak) he is not. Which is the reason why the tall giant figure of Crouch is lost in all the build-up play at Spurs.

So basically, what we have is a player far more comfortable knocking them in than setting them up. The Defoe/Crouch partnership does work at times (as seen at Pompey) but long term, Spurs need a far more mobile complete forward who can slot into playing alongside someone like JD or Pav or even Crouch. Spurts of it won't aid the free-flowing football we've seen when Pav starts alongside Defoe.

Until then, it's fragmented football up front for Spurs. But plenty of joy for England.

Discuss.

We're all in agreement, Azza is better than Theo...

Remember the days when Lennon was accused of being all pace, no end product or composure and pretty much someone who was tagged as a one-trick pony with a limited shelf-life (thanks to defenders quickly working out how to stop him in his tracks)? He had that one single season, that one blip, where he struggled for ideas, lost his way a little. But his progression returned the following year and he continues to improve - in all areas. Not the finished article by a long shot, but a key first team player and one that is a sure fire inclusion for the World Cup, as long as he recovers from his injury. He can score, cross and has a more than decent first touch and is excellent at nicking the ball off opposition players, skipping around them and running off with the leather at his feet. Off the bench for England, he's the definitive impact player. They'll try to hack him down, cards all over the place from the ref.

Theo Walcott on the other hand has done little in the way of anything in the past few seasons. Once you place the hype aside and box it back up and then take the ridiculous decision to take him to the last WC and flush that down the toilet, he's basically a player with plenty of pace - but nothing else. He's a blindfolded Lennon.

Okay, so he's been plagued with injuries - but if this kid played for anyone else, he'd be nowhere near the England team. Even Arsenal fans have run out of patience.

He runs but shows no crafty clever movements and his touch is abysmal for a player much cited as some sort of Henry prototype (see what tabloid hype does and how detrimental it can be?)

Yet our esteemed English tabloids continue to perpetuate fantasy. As though they are attempting to force the issue that surely a young English player at Arsenal HAS to be good and good enough for England. Sven took him to the WC ffs!!!111

Re: tabloids, I'm referring to The Sun and Steven Howard. Which brings me onto today's 'Forum Post of the Day'. Even though its not even 11am (at time of writing), I read this nailed-on reaction to Howard's match report of England's 3-1 win last night which included two gems. One stating Carrick made no impact and the other rewarding Theo a healthy 7 out of 10 for his performance when 4 or 3 would have been far more justified. Considering what SWP did when he came on, the gulf between the two is massive, let alone when comparing TW to Lennon or even David Beckham. Or even David bleeding Bentley.

It would be great if this guy could perform to the level most people remember (the hat trick v Croatia) but that appears to have been one spike in a land of blips. This is a bit like waiting on Jenas to excel because he smashed up Arsenal that one time. It's not happening. It's not going to happen. It's The Happening directed by M. Night Shyamalan. A strange, horrible and unprecedented crisis begins at the Emirates and transcends across to Wembley. The mysterious neurotoxin causes any Sun reporters coming into contact with it to commit common sense suicide. This all started several years back when our young protagonist, playing for Southampton at the time, run down the wing and chipped it in. Have you not see the video of that chip? That goal when he chips it in? Haven't you seen the chip? He chips it. Sky Sports News played that one clip all the time at the time. Over and over and over again. It's the chip. The goal where he chips it over the keeper and into the goal. The kid had chipability. He chips the ball in against some team and scores.

I'm just bitter he rejected us and went to them because of the number 14 factor. Bitter until Gareth Bale pulled himself out of an almighty lull to regain the potential we always prayed he had.

Others are not quite infected by the tiresome hype.

Waddle nailed it on 5 Live: "I've been analysing Walcott's wing play and I've come to the conclusion he does not understand the game".

Fact.

So, thanks to Markysimmo04 over at GG.co.uk and his e-mail to Steven Howard which wins today's 'Forum Post of the Day':

My work colleagues and I were wondering if you actually watched the game last night or maybe was in the bar during the whole of it..
 
How on earth can you give Walcott a 7, apart from one run in the first minute he once again looked like a little boy lost on the pitch and somebody who is only in the squad because he plays for one of the sky / media top 4 cartel, 67 games in 5 seasons for the trophy-less Arsenal shows he isn't even good enough for the premier league let alone international football
 
Or maybe your an Arsenal fan or one of Monsieur Wenger's disciples who hang on every biased comment he makes as the comment about Carrick not making an impression, he had a very good 20 mins or so and made the team tick a lot more than with Lampard on
 
Anyhow your ratings have made for much merriment in our office this morning and we are looking forward to seeing more one eyed clueless reporting in the upcoming weeks and months leading to the world cup 

Well in Mark. I do appreciate a good letter.

Update on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 1:42PM by spooky

Looks like Steven Howard has replied to Mark's e-mail. Have to say, if this is geninue, he has slightly (ever so slightly) gone up in my estimation. Single notch mind. Nothing more.

I'm afraid I didn't do the player ratings. These were done by my colleague Ian McGarry. Sadly, as they sometimes do, they missed outhis by-line. So, once again, I'm made to look a mug. I can do this quite easily on my own without anyone else's help!

Yrs Steve H

Excellent.

Don't take Defoe to the World Cup Fabio...he's evil

We win. Away. Score three goals, and keep a clean sheet. We do it with a mix of the ugly and the sublime, in the mud, up North. And back down South, one of London's freebie newspapers decides to run the headline that has Jermaine Defoe pencilled in as some type of Dark Sith, waving his light-sabers around with no remorse and unnerving petulance. The Facere is strong with this one. Much like the farce is strong with the Evening Standard and their blatant side-step to say something positive about Spurs. You'll be equally shocked to hear the report of the game has nothing to do with Matthew Norman, unless he's ghost writing for Tom Collomosse.

So, basically our win has had the shine taken off it because Defoe did a norty tackle. Yes, yes, because losing your rag is something that is simply forbidden if you're not Wayne Rooney. Tom poses the question 'How would he react to a sly dig in the ribs or a kick on the ankle' during a World Cup quarter final? Don't fret Tom, Wayne will give him some hints and tips on how to control his temperament, because we all know JD is an animal on the pitch, isn't he just. Week in week out, all the goals he's scored count for nothing because they're blanked out by his suspect attitude in games.

Dry them Tom.

Dashing towards the ball is also apparently more condemning evidence that our top scorer is a liability.

Edgy.
Irritable.

That's our JD according to the ES.

So one bad stupid tackle, and it's deserving of 80% of a match report? Really? Is he like this every week? Does he get sent off regularly due to violent conduct or stupid reactions? Of course he bloody well doesn't.

Absolute bollocks journalism by an absolute melter trying his best to avoid discussing a decent win away when a few thought we'd perhaps stumble and lose more ground.

Tomorrow the Evening Standard is set to publish a piece about how Modric is over-rated because anyone with a mullet in this day and age can not possibly be good at football.

Club or country? Spurs or England?

Do you care much about the English national team? I'm sure most of you do, but in comparison to supporting Spurs week in week out, do you get as emotionally involved? What's more important? Club or country?

Yeah, I know. You've never heard that question asked before have you? In fact, it's probably best to ignore the question because most would side with their club, because it's the bread and butter of the game.

Club football is massive, but the pressures and expectations of major tournaments still has me nervous, gutted and joyful - pretty much like watching Tottenham.

Obviously, every Spurs game matters far more than the odd qualifying match or friendly. But when we're involved in a World Cup, it's unquestionably important and equally devastating when we are traditionally knocked out by the Q-F's. It just is. Much like any Spurs game just is.

It's a bit like the cricket. Biting nails during The Ashes, not that fussed with the one-day internationals. England games deep into a championship get the hairs on the back of my neck all stand-upish but otherwise, I don't care too much as long as the team play well.

Some might argue this is just a jingoistic reaction on my part, getting carried away with the over-hype of the press and Union Jack flag waving that sweeps across the nation when England Expects. Making England a part-time bonus to club football rather than the be all and end all of supporting. Although I can clearly remember how sick I've felt when the dream is ended in the latter stages of any give World Cup. You can't fake that type of depression.

I won't ask that clichéd question (oh) about whether you would choose to see Spurs win the title or England win the World Cup. Or whether you just watch England and hope the Spurs representatives do well. Or perhaps hope they sit firmly on the bench and don't get to play, avoiding the potential for injury.

I guess, for me, club football is more important because its your identity as a supporter. England, (even if it can be a circus some of the time, not too dis-similar to Spurs I guess) is just as important from an emotional viewpoint. But only at certain moments. Mainly because its more condensed and all hopes fall upon a summer month every other year.

If you check out the link included in this blog post above, you'll find that most of the Spurs fans in the message board thread are not actually choosing between club and country. They don't appear to care that much, if at all, about the national side. It's more a case of, Spurs matters, England doesn't. No so much club or country, but just club.

/discuss