midds

Ignoring the cringeworthy ITV 'whole of Africa' stuff, I'm genuinely pleased that an African team is still in it. Good on 'em and I hope they do well.

biasness? Agree to an extent though. Getting more and more disillusioned with the game every season tbh.

Like the look of Chile. Bit of a daft system and still temperamental and fiesty but I can identify with that.

If Joe Cole doesn't start Capello is just making a rod for his own back IMO. ....but if he does he'll be accused of 'giving in' to Terry. (as jhonnypd pointed out earlier) Whatever gets a result IMO. Pretty sure Capello will be totally comitted to getting a result even if it looks like he's giving in. Tricky one. He's got to start him (if fit), I think pretty much everyone agrees on that. The result is always going to the most important thing tomorrow and if Capello loses a bit of face in the process then so be it. The team has to come first.

If Joe Cole doesn't start Capello is just making a rod for his own back IMO. ....but if he does he'll be accused of 'giving in' to Terry. (as jhonnypd pointed out earlier)

Fucking hell, talk about having an over-inflated opinion of yourself.

Capello had to kill this one stone dead and it looks like he's put Terry firmly in his place. It's great when mouthy arseholes get a dose of their own.

I bet Beckham's got something to do with this. The pernicious little spunk-bubble. [/unfounded]

He's a snake. Clearly still bears a grudge over being stripped of the captaincy and is trying to undermine Capello by stirring the shite. Absolute wanker.

Gotcha. Are you sure you're not a Chelsea fan who's been hypnotised or something btw?

Is this in your 'Fantasy XI' or your 'World XI' or both? Still not sure of who we're picking here or why tbh. Are they not the same thing?

I would too, but that's a fantasy Xl. What I was trying to get at, was just about every club would be interested in signing and starting those 5. That's moved the goalposts a little tbh. Lampard & Gerrard > Xavi, Iniesta or Essien? Not sure what we're going for here. I didn't say that though, mate. In my original post I said "all but the very best teams." Madrid would take Lampard or Gerrard in an eyeblink, imo. No, I think your original post was: I was going on the phrase 'just about any first XI in world football'. That sounded like you meant the best XI it was possible to name. Not arsed really. I still don't think we've got enough good players to win the thing, or come close tbh. Sadly. :-[

I would too, but that's a fantasy Xl. What I was trying to get at, was just about every club would be interested in signing and starting those 5. That's moved the goalposts a little tbh. Lampard & Gerrard > Xavi, Iniesta or Essien? Not sure what we're going for here.

I'd pick Torres and Drogba up front which would mean Rooney missed out btw. He would make the bench though.

Can't believe most people would choose those 5 players in their World XI's tbh. It's on a complete tangent to the thread but only Rooney would be close imo. The other 4 are very good but you wouldn't pick them for your World XI.

Woah, hang on, I'm not having that like! 5 or 6 in the best world XI in world fotball? Wow, that's a bold statement. We've got Rooney, who would stand a chance.

Fair point. I just like managers to be single-minded and stand or fall on the results they get. Capello has pissed the qualifying so he's doing something right and is fully entitled to call ALL of the shots. If the players don't respond or question the manager's selection/tactics then they should be sent home. In my opinion obviously.

I think he's fucking great.

As long as he's still picking the team then that's just about ok.

Is this the case? No idea, hence the very first word of the bolded sentence.

Really hope Capello has kicked a few arses tonight. Managers manage, players play and that's the way it should stay. If the likes of Terry are going in there having a pop and telling Capello what they think the team should be then I hope he tells the lot of them to fuck off. They should be doing what they're told to the best of their ability.

John Barnes.

Wouldn't that mean 2 strikers were constantly up against 4 defenders and a goalkeeper? Not exactly a recipe for a goalfest is it?

Exactly this. the players are good enough to get to at least the quarters. poor tactics and organisation is the big failing here. They're struggling to control and pass the ball on a consistent basis. Doesn't help when the boss is chopping and changing the team, granted, but they're not getting the job done. Capello will get the stick but his players are letting him down badly imho. true in that they are letting him down but only as much as he is letting them down. we've seen these players play a lot better in our domestic league against frankly better opposition. if its true he not announcing the team till 2 hrs before then it follows that the team he wants to use isn't regularly working together in training. for all we say they are pros on stupid ammounts of cash so they should be able to play anywhere etc when really we know deep down that they need time to settle in and get used to new ideas. we all also know this squad isn't suited to 4-4-2. we know player for player we are better than the other teams in our group. right now i'm putting the majority of the blame on capello. That's all fair enough but the XI he has chosen have underperformed badly. Doesn't really matter what the formation and tactics are if the players can't perform the basics of the sport to a competent level. and why cant they do it when we know that they can when we see it week in week out. it seems to me that the whole team is uncomfortable the way it is set out. That's the $64,000 question at the minute. Don't mind Capello getting a bit of stick when it's deserved but the players need to up their game drastically.

Exactly this. the players are good enough to get to at least the quarters. poor tactics and organisation is the big failing here. They're struggling to control and pass the ball on a consistent basis. Doesn't help when the boss is chopping and changing the team, granted, but they're not getting the job done. Capello will get the stick but his players are letting him down badly imho. true in that they are letting him down but only as much as he is letting them down. we've seen these players play a lot better in our domestic league against frankly better opposition. if its true he not announcing the team till 2 hrs before then it follows that the team he wants to use isn't regularly working together in training. for all we say they are pros on stupid ammounts of cash so they should be able to play anywhere etc when really we know deep down that they need time to settle in and get used to new ideas. we all also know this squad isn't suited to 4-4-2. we know player for player we are better than the other teams in our group. right now i'm putting the majority of the blame on capello. That's all fair enough but the XI he has chosen have underperformed badly. Doesn't really matter what the formation and tactics are if the players can't perform the basics of the sport to a competent level.