England thrash Slovenia

That was more like it.

Slow build up, a tad nervous in the opening exchanges, but once we got going we had the right measure of tempo and conviction to get the job done. Rooney is still struggling to rediscover his game-face, but otherwise we defended well, moved through the middle with intent and our play in and around the box should have resulted in more than just that wonderfully taken Defoe goal, and winner. Wonderful movement in the box, perfect cross by Milner. The latter was decent, player instructions on key, allowing for a far more structured understanding between himself and Glen Johnson down the right.

Gerrard, purposeful and involved. Defoe, patient and sharp with the ball at his feet and unlucky not to have snatched a second. There was one or two mis-placed passes, but compared to the previous two group games, England have managed to claim some much need redemption. Terry and Upson (masterful tackle at the death) at times defending like warriors. Handanovic in-between the sticks for them, worthy of a mention too.

Lampard improved but nowhere near his Chelsea form. Milner, peach of a cross. Did he lack direction at times? Lose the ball too easily? One or two people perhaps being a tad too harsh there. Did think Barry lacked something. Was left disappointed with his overall impact. Much like Lampard, I guess their work on the field is undervalued when compared to the likes of Gerrard. Or perhaps they are just plain ordinary at the moment.

As mentioned, defence worked hard - Johnson a little dodgy at the start. Ashley Cole, top drawer. There were heart-in-mouth moments, but we survived.

Nice to see Joe Cole chucked on. Probably needs more time than a late cameo to be truly instrumental, but his substitution aided us in retaining possession towards the end with his corner flag antics. Looked a little rusty with his passing. Can't see Capello changing the midfield too much in the next game.

One questionable area is up front. And Wayne Rooney's disappointing form. Taken off, injured, but once more off-key. Regardless of his lack of spark, still wouldn't want him to be unavailable for the next match. You hope, he'll awaken soon. Had he not scuffed his shot, it might have happened today. To be fair, he wasn't awful but he was far from great. And compared to his Utd form, nowhere near the player we need for the crusade.

So, a win, confidence, belief. Mood of a nation shifts into the sunshine leaving the dark cloud behind. Was only Slovenia, right? But at least we beat them and our demons. Even Capello was excited (appy) at the final whistle, congratulating the players, all smiles. Team unity on public display for all to see. Well done. Still have to improve.

Also nice to hear actual singing over the textbook vuvuzelas. And thank you to the BBC for showing an England game that ends with an England win. ITV = cursed.

Do we need to improve further? Yes. Stick more chances away for starters. Knock-out football appears to have kick-started our World Cup. Late goal by the USA in their game against Algeria means we now play the winners of Group D. Germany.

And if we win, possibly the Argies. Happy days.

As for Sunday, we do not need any Carlsberg team talks or front page tabloids citing Churchill to inspire.

It's Germany. Just avoid the penalties.

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.