It's the off season so we may as well find something else to debate.....
Well, my proposal went to plan. On the couch with a few beers and a chiken tikka balti. My 5yr old next to me with wife and 3yr old relegated to another room. 2hrs later I was left wondering what I would do if I was in the shoes of Mr Capello. Here goes.
GK - it's probably a toss up between James & Green. Capello probably got it right on the night based on what Green had done in qualifying. Now post cock up it's decision time so I would sit Green down and give him a serios talking to ensuring that his mental strenght was to an acceptable level. At this first sign of self doubt he would have to be dropped. If no signs of self doubt then he is in for Algeria. It's my job as manager to make sure that the self doubt does not creep in.
LB - no change to personnel but Cole needs to push forward a bit more.
RB - no change to personnel. Johnson did ok on the night but over the course of the next 4 weeks we must continually hone his defensive mindset.
CB - no change for J.Terry. However for the 2nd half of the defensive partnership we are in a spot of bother. Why did King not reappear? If he cannot play in the back garden with his 5yr old then what the hell is he doing on the pitch in the first match of the world cup? I've got to decide the following....if King cannot consistently make it through 90 mins then should Dawson be in from the start. It's Dawson over Carragher because of a pace issue.
RM - no change although because of the general lack of pace around I now wish that I had Walcott with me. Lennon can still do a job though.
LM - this is one of my biggest selection headaches. Do I play Gerrard out of position? Do I put a RM on the left? For USA I went with the latter. For Algeria I will probably go with Joe Cole and give him the message that he is responsible for the left side but also has licence to roam freely when time permits - Joe this is your big test and if you succeed it puts you in the shop window big time in your search for a new club.
CM - my other big selection headache. Can Gerrard and Lampard play together? This question has been debated for years. Both players are better players when they play in an andvanced role, Gerrard just off the striker and Lampard at the head of a diamond. I now wish that I had taken more time during our friendlies to look at either Gerrard or Lampard playing in an advanced role with Gareth Barry in more of a defensive or holding roll. Gerrard is captain so he has to play and we all know Lampards track record and mindset. Therefore for Algeria the following applies.....Gerrard plays in place of Heskey in his favoured role playing off the striker. Lampard plays a little further back and Barry plays even further back. Lampard's role is both one of defence and attack.
ST - simple. Rooney stays, Heskey goes. This is hard on Heskey who was one of the better players on Saturday night. Rooney now has to adjust to having Gerrard in support rather than having Heskey around as a feeder. At the end of the day Rooney is one of the greatest players around and we have 6 days of training to restructure ourselves.
Synopsis
1)A change in formation from 4-4-2 to 4-1-3-1-1
2)RM & LM to come a little bit narrower, RB & LB to push forward a bit more into any space vacated by a narrower midfield.
3)Barry into the holding role.
4)Gerrard will be even more inspirational in his favoured forward position.
Team make up looks like this
WR
SG
JC FL AL
GB
AC JT MD GJ
RG
The weak point in my plan - can Lampard play in this role? I'm not so sure as he should be playing where I have put Gerrard. So if it's not working then off comes Lampard and on goes Carrick. I will either be hero or villain depending on the outcome of this decision.
What do I know eh? I'm just a Welshman who supports Oxford United!
If I Was The Manager Of England.....
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Andrewmaha
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Matthewjbutler
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As an England supporter who believes a quarter final appearence would probably be about the right level for our team's potential I thought yesterday's performance was not too bad. King has a groin injury apparently but like you I really worry about Carragher's pace. It is a shame Barry was not fully fit as that would have made a significant difference although I guess that highlights the weaknesses of our squad. I'm also surprised by the faith England has in SWP who just runs into dead ends all day.
I would stick with Green unless he is a crying mess. Was it just me who was sat watching the equalizer with a huge sense of déjà vu following our play off final? Despite wanting England to do well, it didn't feel nearly as gutting - I guess I'm finding it harder to get more excited by country over club nowadays. I guess the money chasing PL can be blamed for that...
I would stick with Green unless he is a crying mess. Was it just me who was sat watching the equalizer with a huge sense of déjà vu following our play off final? Despite wanting England to do well, it didn't feel nearly as gutting - I guess I'm finding it harder to get more excited by country over club nowadays. I guess the money chasing PL can be blamed for that...
Club over country every time.
Andrewmaha's post illustrates that our squad does not have great strength in depth.
The lack of pace with Carragher alongside Terry was a weakness waiting to be exploited. Better teams that the States will do so. With those two at the back we can't afford to push up and will have to play a deep defensive line. Do we then have the pace (and skill) to hit teams on the break? Don't think so.
As for Green - this isn't hindsight but I would not have even included him in the squad. I really rate Joe Hart and think he should have been given more games in the build up.
Walcott just has not done it this season so why would he suddenly be the answer to anything just because he is quick?
Capello really has to earn that massive salary now.
On a positive note it is not teams that start off like a rocket on fire that win the world cup.
Andrewmaha's post illustrates that our squad does not have great strength in depth.
The lack of pace with Carragher alongside Terry was a weakness waiting to be exploited. Better teams that the States will do so. With those two at the back we can't afford to push up and will have to play a deep defensive line. Do we then have the pace (and skill) to hit teams on the break? Don't think so.
As for Green - this isn't hindsight but I would not have even included him in the squad. I really rate Joe Hart and think he should have been given more games in the build up.
Walcott just has not done it this season so why would he suddenly be the answer to anything just because he is quick?
Capello really has to earn that massive salary now.
On a positive note it is not teams that start off like a rocket on fire that win the world cup.
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Matthewjbutler
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Ancient Colin
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Bad mistake by Green - his arms weren't behind the ball. Those comedy Mickey Mouse gloves he picked up from EuroDisney aren't great either.
USA were bloody lucky though - every time that ping-pong ball they're using (who remembers the Tango ball? That was shit as well) twanged around the place it fell at American feet every time.
Anyway, if I were England manager, I'd have had Crouch on for Heskey 10 minutes earlier (when Heskey collapsed on the edge of the box and stayed down.
And I'd have told Carragher that if we made another back-pass to the 'keeper with the USA half a pitch away then he'd be flying home the next morning.
Other than that, we played well, and were a bit unlucky. The big worry is that other teams will see how well man-marking Rooney worked, and we need a Plan B for it.
USA were bloody lucky though - every time that ping-pong ball they're using (who remembers the Tango ball? That was shit as well) twanged around the place it fell at American feet every time.
Anyway, if I were England manager, I'd have had Crouch on for Heskey 10 minutes earlier (when Heskey collapsed on the edge of the box and stayed down.
And I'd have told Carragher that if we made another back-pass to the 'keeper with the USA half a pitch away then he'd be flying home the next morning.Other than that, we played well, and were a bit unlucky. The big worry is that other teams will see how well man-marking Rooney worked, and we need a Plan B for it.
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Sideshow Rob
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