One worried England fan

[Nebby]

So in ten days time it all begins, and I for one am getting increasingly worried.

Why is Sven still faffing around with the team?

After four years of preparation we're about to go into the World Cup with:

1. No recognised cover at right back.

2. No clear idea of who will play the holding midfield role.

3. No experienced cover for Joe Cole or Beckham.

4. Steven Gerrard has got just over week to adapt to another new role.

5. No proven cover for Rooney or Owen.

Plan B? I don't think he's got a Plan A!

[DJT75]

Originally Posted by Nebby

So in ten days time it all begins, and I for one am getting increasingly worried.

Why is Sven still faffing around with the team?

After four years of preparation we're about to go into the World Cup with:

1. No recognised cover at right back.

2. No clear idea of who will play the holding midfield role.

3. No experienced cover for Joe Cole or Beckham.

4. Steven Gerrard has got just over week to adapt to another new role.

5. No proven cover for Rooney or Owen.

Plan B? I don't think he's got a Plan A!

I know what you mean but:

1. We have many players that can fill in here - it's not ideal but it's not the end of the world.
2. Sven needs to adapt to different situation rather than just say he needs a holding midfielder - we don't need one for every game. Playing Trin & Tob is very different from playing Brazil.
3. Beckham is a one off because of his dead balls, you can't replace that, you can replace everything else he does. Cole was poor first half & superb 2nd - We don't have experience to replace him but he's not exactly hugely experienced himself. Lennon, Walcott, Downing are all there for emergencies.
4. Gerrard scored a goal, created a pen, made a few great runs & a couple of great balls without having a great game. I have no worries when the man has Gerrard written on his back. He could play anywhere.
5. This is a worry but what option have we really got? None so we have to make do with what we have. I would however take an extra striker & 1 less midfielder, a really don't understand why Sven hasn't.

On the holding man issue.

If we're playing a 4-1-3-1-1 formation like the 1st half last night there's no point in playing Carrick there - he would just ping the ball up field to Owen on his own & we'd get nowhere. Carragher was a better option last night for that formation.

However, Owen was completely wasted last night, no other international manager on the planet would sacrifice Owen's talents just to accommodate a holding midfielder when we didn't really need one. Against certain teams we need one, against others we don't. Sven needs to learn to adapt to different games & situations or we're screwed.

The first 2 games in the World Cup we need to play 2 upfront, we need points on the board & that means no holding man. After last night, Beckham is an absolute must, as is Cole, Gerrard & I'll say Crouch upfront with Owen. That means you either drop Lampard for Carrick or play Lampard alongside Gerrard. I thought Lampard had his worst game in an England shirt last night (nothing to do with the pen miss).

Against Sweden with qualification probably hanging on at least a draw - you play one upfront - probably Crouch & Carragher in the role/formation we had last night - I'd play the same team as last night but without Owen if that scenario arises against Sweden. If we need a goal, either bring on Owen, go 4-4-2 or stick a couple of young fast wingers (Lennon & Walcott) to scare the crap out them.

I for one am excited that we have these different options & fresh raw talent to bring off the bench rather than the last 6 years where the only subs we've seen are the likes of Hargreaves & P.Neville. This World Cup will be much more exciting as an England fan & if Beckham pings the ball in like last night we'll be scoring from every other dead ball too.

[lostinspace]

Can't believe the marking at set plays will be as bad as that in the World Cup, though.
Joe Cole will terrify any team he plays- it's nice to see someone attack a defender by running at him every chance he gets, and could be England's star player.
I'm just sorry England had to cheat to get a penalty, and I'm really glad it was missed. If things like that happen in the World Cup, and refs will be looking at diving, England could be a couple of players short by half-time. Who said Sven didn't have a plan B?

[Strobe]

Originally Posted by Nebby

So in ten days time it all begins, and I for one am getting increasingly worried.

Why is Sven still faffing around with the team?

After four years of preparation we're about to go into the World Cup with:

1. No recognised cover at right back.

2. No clear idea of who will play the holding midfield role.

3. No experienced cover for Joe Cole or Beckham.

4. Steven Gerrard has got just over week to adapt to another new role.

5. No proven cover for Rooney or Owen.

Plan B? I don't think he's got a Plan A!

1. Jamie Carragher.

2. Carrick, if needed. But, to be honest, I'm not sure I buy this holding midfielder role. Okay, Chelsea have used it to great effect for the past two seasons in the Premier League but, in Lump-o-lard and Stevie-G we have two of the best midfielders in Europe. All it takes would be a some self-discipline when one bombs forward.

3. Agreed with you here. Joe Cole does not provide much width, he does cut inside with great effect though, classic example being the Crouch goal last night. I have not seen much of Downing this season but he is the only true left-footer we have in the squad. Becks has had his dectractors in the past, but I am a fan of his. You could not replace that right foot. Lennon does seem prett sparky though and has certainly done more to justify a selection tha Walcott has.

4. True, but it's Steve-G!! Last night, he 'won' a penalty, scored a goal and created chances.

5. Agreed.

I am not too despondant at the moment. My formation would be a 4-4-2 with a team I think picks itself (Robinson, Neville, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole, Becks, Lapard, Gerrard, Cole, Own and Crouch). Alternatively, if we are considering the holding midfielder then 4-1-3-1, with Carrick in front of the back four and Gerrard advanced.

[Strobe]

My worse fear is that Owen Hargreaves does NOT get injured in the next week and a half!! Perhaps a Jamaican will crock him on Saturday.

[neilios]

I haven't watched the game on tv yet, as i went to the game .

But here,s my view ,the hungarians put every man behind the ball in the first half ,making it very difficult for england to penetrate ,sometimes it was 6 against 10 in the hugarian half ,with the hugarians pressing the ball ,but england dealt with that tactic very well,and eventually got a couple of chances ,owens header ,lampards penalty etc .

As for carragher ,i thought he did ok ,but too many of his passes were square balls or return passes to his own goal which i thought disrupted the whole midfield ,there was no pace to the play once it got to carragher ,not his fault mind ,but sven needed to make a change ,and he did, which immediatley freed up beckham ,lampard and joe cole.

Beckham went into the centre for a while and i can remember saying to my mate how much of a difference it makes once a midfied player receives the ball off the defence, the passing is just so much sharper and positive .

I agree with DJT75 about lampard he did seem pretty lacklustre throughout the game ,very disappointing ,his penalty was very poor as well,as was his overall distribution and energy levels ,he did come alive a little toward the middle of the second half.

Beckham is a must though ,its a fact that a massive percentage of goals especially at international level come from freekicks ,and 2 england goals came from that situation ,both were delivered perfectly into the danger zones and finished off nicely ,especially gerrards.And lets face it david beckhams crossing is second to non .

Gary neville's crossing last night was absolutley dire though ,probably one of his worst games ,i wasn't suprised to see him sat on the bench last night in the second half ,with a pretend injury .hehe.

Other than that ,nothing really to worry about ,we've got to remember england are going to come up against teams that are going to defend ,and flood there own half ,to stop england playing .The best thing about sven is that, he's brought so many different players through, unlike previous england managers who seemed to pick the same old players ,and lacked idea's .

Everyone seems to always bang on about brazil ,they have awesome attackers yes ,but there defence is poor .

The argentinians for me look very strong all over the pitch ,solid agressive defence ,excellent midfield ,and good finishers up front ,wether they can keep there heads though is another point.Likewise the portugese .

Anyway role on the world cup.

[neilios]

Good point about carrick ,he maybe used but he tends to pass it long ,hence bypassing his midfield and giving owen difficult balls,and basically taking him out of the game .

[overkill]

I agree it was rather worrying. We don't need a 'holding player' and as DT I think said, Owen was wasted. Hungary showed that mass defence is beyond their ability to break down, and it took a contraversial decision to rattle them.

Second half, absolutely dire defending gifted England three soft goals. Well done to Crouch for taking his well, but where was the centre half?

Overall, defensively, for the first time in ages that's not a problem. Cole, Ferdinand, Terry and Carragher are all on form and Neville even off form looks reasonable. Campbell once he settled in looks ok for cover. So, six defenders.

Midfield, Forget the 'holding role' crap. Stick with what the players know 4-4-2.

Lampard had an off game but can do better, Becks had a good un, Gerrard played that far forward is a cert. However, 'the boss' seems to prefer him playing behind the back four! Duh! Cole is looking a sure starter, while the other 'contenders' seems likely to miss out. Not sure why.......... However, once these sure starters get injured it thins out rapidly. Is Hargreaves even a footballer? Is Ericsson his secret, illegitimate father?

Up front it's more worrying. Owen needs more practise to sharpen up. Gerrard could play a forwards role but he's wasted there. Rooney isn't going to make it, Crouch once again looks ok against poor defences, but again I'm not sure about trusting him against decent opposition like Italy, Brazil or Germany who would just look up and laugh. Wallcotts too inexperienced, and no-one else seems to be figuring in what Sven passes for a mind. It's in this dept that we may come unstuck.

[Light_User]

Originally Posted by overkill

.

Second half, absolutely dire defending gifted England three soft goals. Well done to Crouch for taking his well, but where was the centre half?

Both Centre-halfs were drawn away/distracted from Crouch by a good run from Walcott. This left a big hole for Crouch to turn into and enough room for him to get a shot in.

[neilios]

Spot on.

[overkill]

Originally Posted by Light_User

Both Centre-halfs were drawn away/distracted from Crouch by a good run from Walcott. This left a big hole for Crouch to turn into and enough room for him to get a shot in.

Yes, that's true, but that's also the mark of a centre half partnership that doesn't know what eachother is doing! Which, was the whole point............

I would NOT expect the likes of Italy to get caught out in the same way. Would you?

[Chef Borjan]

I thought Joe Cole played rather poorly myself. Caught in possesion too many times, with a lack of awareness. Moments of brilliance mean nothing if you lose the ball every other time in your own half. I wouldn't mind a player really losing it up the other end, but once you lose it in a situation when the rest of your team think everythings going to be fine for the next 10 seconds, you give everyone serious problems to deal with.

And once we get to the better teams in the World Cup, they will punish you with no remorse.
On the other hand, the man J.C. I thought did a wonderful job, though yes, some of his passing was a little negetive. Some of it however was great.

I personally, as a football player, am a fan of the holding midfield role. Being a centre back, I can command who goes where, and with the holding midfielder out, it makes life SO much easier. I'm a firm believer that you can't play football without the ball, and there will come a time when you need to stop the other team scoring and get it back. If you can use it effectively from there, the game's in the bag.

People need to stop this Sven bashing. If you look at the record, its damn good. In a few years time, we will look back and wish he was still around.

[overkill]

Originally Posted by Chef Borjan

I

People need to stop this Sven bashing. If you look at the record, its damn good. In a few years time, we will look back and wish he was still around.

Compared to what? He's had qualifing groups so easy previous England managers would have died for them, had less than difficult finals groups, then fails in every single match he's come up against quality opposition in, and it counts. Let's not forget either, that even in 2002 it took a free kick that should never have been to save him from the disgrace of not qualifying at all! He's confused the players with 'off the cuff' tactical changes, poor substitutions in key matches, and his persistence with players who quite frankly, aren't up to the job.

He will rightly be judged on how far England have progressed under him. Thus far that's not one step.

If he wins the World Cup I will be only to willing to put my hands up and admit I was wrong. But I'm not holding out to much concern over having too though.

[Nebby]

Couldn't agree with you more, Overkill.

I don't think the England team has made any progress since Sven took over.

What's more worrying is that we're about to go into the World Cup and far too many members of the squad either lack experience or are being asked to play out of position.

He's had four years to try out new players, as well as give regular 'reserves' like Jenas, Hargreaves, Carragher and so on, a decent run in the side so that if they ever get onto the pitch they at least look like they know what they are doing.

I mean, for about a year he has stuck with SWP even though the guy (a) has spent most of the season sat on the bench at Chelsea and (b) has never looked comfortable in an England shirt (hardly surprising given that he only ever gets 10 or 15 minutes here and there). He ignores Lennon - who has been exceptional for Spurs all season - only to call him up at the last minute.

Outside of the obvious choices, his team / squad selection leaves me baffled.

[Chef Borjan]

So.. Argentina... what was that then? Yeah, we beat average teams. We also beat good teams. And we have lost a few times to some good teams.

And look how we lost. France was due to a few last minutes of madness. Portugal... Sol Cambell's disallowed goal.

And man, are you saying that England SHOULD be Brazil? Yes, becuase I'm sure that Sven was the reason we went out...

Nothign there to be especially ashamed of.

Regardless, so EXPECT a manager to take the team to win the World Cup, whoever they are, is a highly unfair thing to ask. That's is basically what you are saying, when you say, "Only if he wins the World Cup will he be accepted"

You have not got to win one match. Or two. By the end of the tournament, you have to beat the best teams in the world without losing a single match.

Tough job that is, especially since we don't have a team that stands out as unstoppable.

I fail to see realistically what more you can ask from him.