Cronky

In my playing days, I loved that secondary striker role, linking attack and midfield. That's why I go on about those kind of players so much. I'd like to have been George Best. For the sex, mainly. I regret not getting more as a young man.

What I can remember in the aftermath of that semi-final was not feeling too bad, because if we'd played in or won the final without Gazza, something would have been lost from the whole occasion. He had been the absolute heart and soul of that team, and I'd have felt terrible for him if he'd missed out on a final triumph. I'm sure I wasn't the only person feeling that.

I don't know if Beckenbauer's 'kick and rush' comments about England have been discussed yet, but I think it'll do the team a power of good. They were playing under a lot of pressure against the US, and someone dismissing their chances will release some of that. Not to mention giving them the incentive to prove him wrong. Well done, Kaiser Franz. More of it, please.

It seems to die on its arse every night. Adrian Charles tries to be a cheeky chappie but the atmosphere isn't right and no-one responds. Vieira and Davids talk in monotones. Southgate is okay but he's not a person who can liven things up. As for Kevin, I know he doesn't like watching football any more but he can at least try and look enthusiastic.

I'd say semis, but it all depends on restoring the shape and style that took us through the qualifying rounds. This is a better England team than previous ones, because we now have a threat going down the middle, as well as down the wings with crosses. Against the US, we ended up with a traditional 4-4-2 and the chances were restricted to the wings. The key is getting Gerrard forward and linking with Rooney down the middle. That didn't really happen on Saturday, and in fact the only time it did, we scored. We can do that either by making Rooney the lone striker with Gerrard alongside him, or by keeping Heskey / Crouch and playing a 4-3-2-1, with Rooney and Gerrard as the roving two, which was our previous pattern. Barry's return is crucial because he allows that to happen. It was very striking that neither Rooney or Gerrard were that effective on Saturday. They're our two best players and we have to use them. The Americans were very smart tactically and played their part in stifling them. If we play that way against a better team, we'll lose.

I don't think you should be restricted to the land of your birth, but you have to draw the line somewhere. I'd say it's okay to play for the country of either parent's birth, but not your grandparents'. That should be tightened up. It also seems fair to play for the land you were brought up in as child, but not the country you emigrated to as an adult. I don't know how easy that would be to regulate. Maybe you should have to prove that you were permanently resident in that country at the age of 10.

The Cahill sending off was fair enough. Watching it in real time, it's clear there's no attempt to get to the ball. Following on from the Euros, I still don't know what Gomez is doing in that side. The timing of the German runs from midfield was brilliant. Definitely the best side so far.

Milner doesn't look quick enough to play out wide at that level. He couldn't get started and was starting to lose it. SWP was his usual frustrating self, but he was filling in out of position and at least he got involved. We're focusing a bit too much on the weak areas, which will be there in every side. On the plus side, Lennon and Johnson looked effective on the right, Heskey caused problems, and if we can get Gerrard further forward, linking with Rooney, we'll carry much more threat.

Best and most honest panellist so far has been Southgate. Keegan just talked in cliches.

Barry frees our midfield up, and is a big loss. Neither Lampard nor Gerrard seemed to be getting forward very effectively tonight. Just a moan about Terry as well. He was secure defensively, but there were two or three occasions where an American attack broke down and he had the chance to pick a forward pass and catch them on their heels. Instead, he played safe and knocked it backwards. I wouldn't mind if he didn't have the ability to do better, but he does. I just feel that whenever he's in an England shirt, he plays within himself. Johnson and Lennon produced our best openings down the right. We don't have a left footed wide player who can combine well with Cole so we should forget about a straight 4-4-2.

All about getting him back in the team and fully fit again should we progress. I'd be more about trying to bring some creativity into the team. It's not always about personnel though, shape has a lot to do with it. Yeah. With Barry, we have proper defensive cover and Gerrard can get forward to link with Rooney, like in the qualifying round. That gets us out of the strict 4-4-2 which looks so predictable. We had a much better second half. First half was very nervy.

Capello will be taking a close look at him. The mistake was down to nerves. He didn't move his feet to get behind the ball.

The big problem is that neither of them can protect the back four. The Americans are just going through us down the middle. Milner out wide left was a strange decision. He got in the squad for his performances down the middle. Out wide he couldn't get involved and was getting frustrated. At least Capello had the courage to take him off.

i'm sure robson played him on the left in europe once. what componded the probblem for allardyce was he also played n'zogbia on the right amongst lots of other mistakes. He might have Milner in the middle, in Barry's position, with Gerrard further forward. That would be my choice.

Pace yourselves, lads. At this rate, you'll be burnt out by the quarter-finals.

The US will be a hard nut to crack. They're not the most talented side, but they're ranked number 14 in the world on results. If the Americans decide to do something, they get themselves well organised and give it 100%. They don't do things half-hearted. 1-0 to England.

Plus he's English which will be important for their CL squad. Surprised Chelsea haven't made more of an effort to keep Joe Cole tbh. Asking for £110,000 a week apparently. Plus he's English which will be important for their CL squad. Surprised Chelsea haven't made more of an effort to keep Joe Cole tbh. Asking for £110,000 a week apparently. And the alternative is to let a £15m+ player walk out the door and spend a similar amount to replace him. £110,000 pw is a ridiculous amount of money but still a cheaper alternative to Cole going on a Bosman. The problem Chelsea have is a spiralling wage bill. It's all very well paying John Terry 150K a week as an exceptional player, but then other players like Cole on half that money are going to look at that and demand more in their turn. Unless you really are a bottomless pit of money and you're prepared to let that cycle continue, you end up in trouble.

He doesn't sound like a very nice man.

Carroll would actually be a useful addition to the squad of one of the bigger clubs like Chelsea. He wouldn't be a starter, but his power in the air would be a useful option if they were chasing a game and the usual strategy was failing.

I just wish he'd look a bit more confident when he's being interviewed. Perhaps he's a quiet character who doesn't like the limelight, but he does seem nervous. He's barely played any international football over the last few years, and there's not been a lot of pressure of expectation on him at club level. I just hope he handles it okay.

It seems nailed on. I can't believe our luck. Normally we lack creativity in attack but have a strong defence, particularly the keeper and CBs. Now that we've got the best attacking unit in my memory, the defence is looking dodgy.

Milking his short time in the limelight for all it's worth.

Definitely. That would not have been a realistic option. We would then have gone through the close season with no manager and therefore no-one to direct any transfers. And what new manager would have fancied coming here when he'd seen the previous one - a bloke with a good record - sacked without a ball being kicked?

He's made more than one big mistake, his whole tenure in charge has been a catalogue of mistakes. My feeling is that when you're entering any new and unfamiliar field of work, your first two years are littered with mistakes. It's after then, that you put the experience to good use, if you get the chance. So IMO it's too early to judge. A big problem was that the old regime were swept away without much opportunity for Ashley to get to know the business. In reality, a coup was the only way of getting rid of Freddie. Trouble was there was no therefore no continuity that might have cushioned him from his major errors.

The correct comparison isn't where we are now versus where we were hoping to be. It's where we are now versus where we would have been if Shepherd had remained in charge. Which is hypothetical of course.