Latest Content tagged with "England"

England's Problems and How to Fix Them

by sheps 15:28, 22 June 2010 | ?, (0 votes) 1 1277216928

England are in a real muddle. The tactics are in my opinion wrong, especially against 3 centre backs and defensive formations, and the players are down mentally.

The latter problem is easy. The pathetic overpaid twats are too used to having everything their way. They know from past World Cups that they will be crucified if, for instance, they miss in a penalty shoot out. They need to stop for a second to allow their testes to descend; and the press need to take a long look at themselves and ask - would they rather England progress further in the World Cup or would they like to massage their own careers a little?

The tactics, to be honest, aren't hard either. Let's just copy Brazil...

Brazil have been playing with two defensive-minded midfielders. This has two advantages - firstly the full backs can get forward (see Maicon); both of England's full backs are good down the pitch. Secondly they allow you to control the midfield and distribute the ball back and forward....

England's Starting Line Up Revealed: EXCLUSIVE!

by sheps 13:27, 18 June 2010 | ?, (0 votes) 1 1276864021

http://www.the6yardbox.com/article/englands-inevitable-world-cup-tactics (13th May 2010)

Now we have Barry back from injury, and Green revealed to be shit in goal, we're back to square one (see above link).

Of course Carragher will be in rather than the injured Ferdinand.

The only doubt is Heskey or Defoe or Joe Cole in behind Rooney. I prefer the third option to force Rooney to play up top, if not let's not play Defoe. Rooney will just drop back into midfield, frustrated, and get booked.

I'm still sticking with a draw - and a score one at that, perhaps 2-2.

Here Comes the typical Doom and Gloom

by Gunner10 13:51, 31 May 2010 | 4, (1 vote) 39 1275310319

As England came off the field yesterday after their forttunate 2-1 victory over Japan the hangman's noose was already being tightened in the media corner. A poor, lacklustre display by England saw them score no goals and look about as solid as a BP oil pipe. So typically the England team was slaughtered in the papers and the blogosphere but is it actually that bad?

Taking that dispaly on it's own then Yes but looking at the bigger picture then No. There were no key injuries in either friendly. France, Ghana, Italy and Germany have all had key players drop out through injuries.

Portugal drew to Cape Verde, Algeria lost 3-0 to Rep of Irleand, South Korea lost 1-0 to Belarus, France drew to Tunisia, Spain scraped a 3-2 win over Saudi Arabia and the Ivory Coast lost a 2-0 lead to draw to Paraguay. England have won both their games despite being unconvincing and with teams that are not likely to be the starting team in the World Cup.

A couple...

World Cup Odds: Before the Friendlies

by sheps 14:52, 20 May 2010 | 5, (1 vote) 1 1274363564

I have an obsession for stats. I think it's a male thing - I just can't get enough of them - so in an ill-fated attempt to guess who's going to win the World Cup, at various stages before and during the tournament I'll be posting the current odds from betfair, explaining why they've changed. And more importantly for the gamblers amongst us - where they are likely to change in the future.

Then, when I write the next post, we can all see how badly wrong I was and you can all try to sue me if you were stupid enough to put your money where my mouth is.

Before the Friendlies

We know the 32 teams playing in South Africa - and we know at least a preliminary squad for most teams. So where do they all stand now?

The teams are ordered by their groups and then seeds if you can't recognise the flags (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_cup_2010#Group_A).

Spain currently stand as favourites to lift the trophy with about a 1/5 shot to make their Euro win of...

England's Inevitable World Cup Tactics

by sheps 15:38, 13 May 2010 | ?, (0 votes) 1 1273761527

Let's just get this over with before we have to suffer through mid-June.

We'll draw against the States and Algeria, then beat Slovenia by 2 goals to scrape first place in the group and get some false hope going around the nation.

Then Australia will take us to extra time before a Frank Lampard deflected effort off the scoreboard, corner flag, goalkeeper, post and finally crossbar gives us the win - despite never actually having crossed the line.

We'll then lose on penalties in the quarter finals.

The Same Again

This is despite Capello's facade of a new England. Mentally, this may be true but we've been beaten fair and square on the pitch at recent tournaments and the way we still play suggests that's not likely to change. We're still such a good target for other teams to beat - we're a bigger scalp than our talent suggests and this is a massive motivator for our opponents.

At The Back...

Terry's lack of pace over this season makes him an able replacement for...

Preliminary England Squad

by sheps 14:03, 11 May 2010 | ?, (0 votes) 1 1273582989

England's preliminary 30 man squad for the World Cup:

Goalkeepers

Joe Hart (Birmingham City from Manchester City)
David James (Portsmouth)
Robert Green (West Ham)

Defenders

Leighton Baines (Everton)
Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)
Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
Michael Dawson (Tottenham) *
Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)
Glen Johnson (Liverpool)
Ledley King (Tottenham)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Matthew Upson (West Ham)
Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa) *

Midfielders

Gareth Barry (Manchester City)
Michael Carrick (Manchester United)
Joe Cole (Chelsea) *
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham) *
Adam Johnson (Manchester City)
Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Aaron Lennon (Tottenham)
James Milner (Aston Villa)
Scott Parker (West Ham) *
Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City) *
Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

Strikers

Darren Bent (Sunderland) *
Peter Crouch (Tottenham)
Jermaine Defoe (Tottenham)
Emile Heskey (Aston Villa)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

I've asterisked those...

World Cup Stadia: Cape Town Stadium

by sheps 15:21, 4 May 2010 | 5, (1 vote) 1 1272982860

Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

Capacity: 69,070
Matches: Uruguay vs France (June 11th), Italy vs Paraguay (June 14th), England vs Algeria (June 18th), Portugal vs North Korea (June 21st), Cameroon vs Netherlands (June 24th), Winners of Group H vs Runners-up of Group G (June 29th), Quarter Final 3 (July 3rd), Semi Final 1 (July 6th)

Cape Town Stadium replaces Green Point Stadium, previously on the same site, and has been built for this World Cup in the west of the city of Cape Town.

The city itself is the second most populous in South Africa but fails to lay claim to any capital city responsibilities. Built around a natural harbour, and with Table Mountain looming large behind it, Cape Town is often considered one of the more picturesque urban locations in the country. Just out into the bay from the stadium is the famous Robben Island, a prison unfortunately not for Arjen, but for many years of Nelson Mandela's life.

The two local Premier League...