England 2 Sweden 2

[Rusty G]

I have tried to stay positive whilst others have had more negative views on Englands performances so far at this World Cup but after last nights performance and subsequent injuries, I have to admit for the first time that the chance of us winning this tournament is very, very unlikely.

Sven has done himself no favours, IMO it was an ideal oppurtunity to have a good look at Walcott last night, Crouch should never have been risked and we now go into the remainder of the tournament, with a non fully fit Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch and young Walcott (who we haven't yet seen) as our only attacking options ??

The goals we conceeded were sloppy and we just don't seem to have any rhythm or balance in our play, I hate to say it but Sven just doesn't seem to have the balls to make a decision, the game was crying out for Lennon last night, but you just get the feeling Sven doesn't want to upset Beckham ??

I hope last night was just a blip, having said that lets hope all the performances have just been a blip and we can start to settle and gain confidence as the tournament progresses, however it's goals that will win you this competition and at the moment I don't see us being clinical enough in the fianl third.

People will argue that Crouch is the man to replace Owen, but an honest opinion is that Crouch isn't world class and with him in the team we revert to a long ball game which doesn't suit our style of football.

Negative post over, lets hope things get better !!

[spacey]

Funny that, I typed up quite a negative post this morning, then deleted it but it pretty much agreed with what you were saying.

Basically my post saying that last nights performance was no more than a 5 out of 10 performance, attacking options were weakend due to Owens injury and an idea oppourtunity to see Wallcott bottled.

The back four were awful, Ashley Cole gave the ball away to much, Carragher is not a right back (Danny Mills did a better job as Neville replacement at the last word cup)

Robinson in goal showed he has picked up some bad habits off David James while in Germany when it comes to crosses.

The midfield looked better but no longer one of the best in the world, Sub Gerrard was outstanding. Hargreaves looks like a poor mans Robbie Savage never stops running or working.

Overall the team lacked width, invention, ambition and commitment. If England want to win this competition then you need all that plus a team that keeps hold of the ball instead of pumping from one end of the pitch to the other.

[Ansty FC]

First half was good, not great but good, with Joe Cole being our only outlet.

The likes of Wayne Rooney & Joe Cole put the rest of the team to shame. They actually want to win the World Cup. The others don't seem too bothered.

However, I, like many believe / hope we will get better.............

[The Tye]

Hargreaves did ok, allowed Lampard to attack more, But lampard is way off his best and Gerrard is making him look stupid!

We saw last night how valuable Gerrard is to the side, and thank god he didnt get booked!

Sven SHOULD have played Theo Walcott last night, and he probably would have done, but...(im not too sure how correct this is?)Walcott hasnt played 90 minutes of senior fotball at all, even for Southampton, so you cant give him 89 in an England shirt, especially considering the situation with bookings etc. We needed Gerrard to rescue us, and if owen hadnt got injured im sure we would have seen Walcott on for Rooney after 60 Minutes!!!

[Fingers]

We would have taken Ecuador in the last 16 before the tournament started.

Owens injury maybe a blessing in disguise although you dont like to see players get injured, he wasnt firing on all cylinders and was being picked due to past performances. If we are honest Owen was lucky to be playing. Now with that option not available to Sven then he has to pick a holding midfield player with Gerrard playing just behind Rooney. I think Hargreaves played well last night. We want to hope Gary Neville is fit as Carragher is nowhere near as good as him. Lennon and Crouch are great options from the bench. I still think we will win it. Gerrard and Rooney are key players if they play well then they can win a game at any level on their own.

Im not all with this doom and gloom and negativity because do we expect our team to beat every side we play 3 or 4-0. In 1982 Italy stumbled out of groups and went on to win the competition. England havent stumbled and we've finished top with certain players not firing on all cylinders. If those said players now bring their club form to the international stage which we expect them to do then we will win the competition.

[The Tye]

We want to hope Gary Neville is fit as Carragher is nowhere near as good as him.

Obviously!

[the lawn mower]

I'm not going to go on again about the manager, but surely it must be obvious to you all where the problem lies.
I'm not being pessimistic and I think England can go a lot further in the cup, even despite him, (Sven).
The players seem to have twiged, that you got to go through the gears and upgrade your game, the stiffer the opposition becomes.
I still maintain that if you played Carrick and Lennon the standard would improve dramatically and give the game more craft, pace and skill.
Looks like it's going to have't to be 4-5-1 from now on, so if your like-minded you will realise some of your favorites will have to be left on the bench.
That analagy of Hargreaves and that welsh blue-bottle I found amusing and correct.
Joe Cole, Gerrard, Rooney,Terry,Lampard, Neville, Carrick, Lennon, Robinson, Ash Cole and Campbell should be enough to see us through to the semi's at least.
People away's say, it the result that counts, well thats right, but if your going to win it, lets "WIN IT IN STYLE".

[Dave]

Does anybody know why Sven won't drop Beckham? He is yet to do anything of merit!

I heard a rumour that Martin O'Neil told the FA that the first thing he would do would be to drop Beckham, and that was why he didn't get the job.

Give Lennon a chance, he runs at defenders and can create chances, all Beckham does is take free kicks (badly) and whack the ball up field as hard as he can. I like Beckham but its time to try something new!

Hargreaves did ok

[spacey]

Sorry I disagree that Beckham has yet to do anything or merit,. Thanks to a badly taken free kick England scored their first goal of the tournament, then when he whacked the ball up field Crouch scored a header, Beckham has done more than Shoot from litterally anywhere frankie in centre mid

I would prefer that England dropped Carragher and played beckham at Right back then Lennon played right mid, however is he fit enough to run at players for 90 mins the way he did against T&T for 25 mins.

Yeah, Hargreaves did ok.

[*JBFC11*]

If any midfielder were to lose there place it would\should be Lampard. As I said before the tourny I rate Stevie G as our best player, and subsequently was ridiculed, but if he has the license to do his stuff in the final 3rd he's so effective.

I agree Beckham should keep his place, he's balls (not his golden ones) are so valuable to the team and it wud even be an option to move him into the centre.

Lennon is a good attacking option to bring on later in games I think, especially if the opposing full back is on a yellow card.

Hargreaves did well, got an 8 in the current bun.

[sugar ray]

[quote
I agree Beckham should keep his place, he's balls (not his golden ones) are so valuable to the team and it wud even be an option to move him into the centre.

ISN'T THAT WHERE HE PLAYED WHEN WE LOST TO NORTHERN IRELAND 1-0

[red_boots2]

Rumor has it one of the questions asked at the interviews by the FA was; "would you keep David Beckham as England Captain?" Apparently Curbishley, O'niell & Alladyce all said they'd get rid of him

[*JBFC11*]

[quote
I agree Beckham should keep his place, he's balls (not his golden ones) are so valuable to the team and it wud even be an option to move him into the centre.

ISN'T THAT WHERE HE PLAYED WHEN WE LOST TO NORTHERN IRELAND 1-0

He played the holding role in that game.

good pluck

[Fingers]

Now Owen is injured Sven Im sure will play

4-5-1 with Hargreaves holding and Lampard and Gerrard pushing on supporting Rooney. Crouch and Lennon will be great subs to have. I also agree Beckham is worth his place in the side but not at full back, out wide so he can pick out lampard and gerrards runs. I hope Neville is back and Campbell looked OK if Rio is injured.

If we beat Ecuador then Portugal or Holland will be a great game. I fancy us against either of them. My only fear is Brazil as everytime I watch them I always feel they are 5 minutes away from scoring.

[Rusty G]

Begs the question -

Why did Sven take Jenas ??

Surely an additional forward would have made more sense ??