John Terry reinstated as England captain

[Guest Phil K]

Just listened to that interview with Capello.  It sounded very much like Terry is getting dropped.

 

capello said he was hoping for a big performance from him, so i doubt it.

 

Like Terry or loathe him, one thing you can't deny - if theres only one England player giving 100% it'll be Terry.

[OzzieMandias]

Last Friday was the 14th aniversary of the 4-1 win over Holland, arguabley one of the greatest modern day England performances. I had a look at the team that day...Seaman, G. Neville, Adams, Southgate, Pearce, Anderton, Gascoigne, Ince, McManaman, Shearer, Sheringham.

 

I wonder how many of Friday's team would have got into that side? Although it only seems like five minutes ago the personalties involved that day were of a completely different era to these we have now, and there was some genuine quality.

 

This team has a couple of quality players who can't seem to fit into a simple formation, and half a dozen who think they're a lot better than what they are.

 

Now take a look at the team that beat Germany 5-1 in Munich.

 

That game was a hell of a lot closer than it looks on paper. The Germans had left their shooting boots at home, much like in the game against Serbia, (I recall Ballack contriving to miss the target completely from about 5 yards out) and Owen just couldn't miss.

 

I was at that match and it didn't look remotely close to me.

 

I was there, too, and it didn't look it to me at the time, either, but I've watched the DVD quite a few times since, and the Germans had just as many decent chances as we did until they threw in the towel at 1-4.

 

Looked to me like they were dead at half time. Their fans certainly thought so.

[wacko]

Last Friday was the 14th aniversary of the 4-1 win over Holland, arguabley one of the greatest modern day England performances. I had a look at the team that day...Seaman, G. Neville, Adams, Southgate, Pearce, Anderton, Gascoigne, Ince, McManaman, Shearer, Sheringham.

 

I wonder how many of Friday's team would have got into that side? Although it only seems like five minutes ago the personalties involved that day were of a completely different era to these we have now, and there was some genuine quality.

 

This team has a couple of quality players who can't seem to fit into a simple formation, and half a dozen who think they're a lot better than what they are.

 

Now take a look at the team that beat Germany 5-1 in Munich.

 

That game was a hell of a lot closer than it looks on paper. The Germans had left their shooting boots at home, much like in the game against Serbia, (I recall Ballack contriving to miss the target completely from about 5 yards out) and Owen just couldn't miss.

 

I was at that match and it didn't look remotely close to me.

 

I was there, too, and it didn't look it to me at the time, either, but I've watched the DVD quite a few times since, and the Germans had just as many decent chances as we did until they threw in the towel at 1-4.

 

Looked to me like they were dead at half time. Their fans certainly thought so.

 

Gerrard's goal right at the end of the 1st half hurt them (Kahn described it afterwards as breaking their neck), but they'd missed a few very good chances by that time.

 

As I recall, Völler took off a defender after the 1st half (which was what really did for them) and brought on Asamoah, and I said to my mate that we'd score more, but it was still only 1-2 at half time. It wasn't till the last 20 minutes that it became an England exhibition match (Gerrard nutmegging Hamann, then turning around and going past him again).

 

I was sat in the German end, and I'll never forget the bloke next to me suddenly cheering up when it was 1-4. That's what he'd drawn in the office sweepstake, and he stood to win a few hundred marks. A couple of minutes later, Heskey banged in number 5, and the bloke just stood up and said, "I'm off to get the car." 

 

Also, John Terry's a cock.

[Cronky]

Capello is a great manager but isn't the right man for England long-term. Once this tournament ends for England which based on recent performances could well be sooner rather than later, I think Capello needs replaced and replaced by an expressive manager who focuses on performance and playing football rather than the result.

 

England aren't and haven't been playing well for a long time now despite impressive qualifying results and that needs to change if England are to prosper in major tournaments where possession of the ball is critical.

 

England haven't really played good football or kept possession of the ball as good as the opposition in general since Sir Bobby's days, a manager who focused on the performance as much as the result, an expressive manager who liked his team to attack, who liked his flair players.

 

It is no coincidence that is the last time England have looked most capable of winning the World Cup with such an expressive manager in charge. England's major weakness today and for a very long time now is in keeping the ball and moving it around and this is the why we fail in major tournaments where possession and moving the ball is key.

 

To combat that we need a manager in place who encourages flair, who encourages attacking play, who focuses on performance and not a manager like Capello who is regimented and mainly focused on tactics, results and discipline. Just like Sven. Capello's England is like watching Sven's, tough work. They play the same kind of turgid, one dimensional football with players out of position and players being shoehorned into the team, team's that rely on the individual far too often, the Beckhams or the Rooneys.

 

But players like that need freedom, they need to play in a team that attacks, that tries to play football, a team that can keep possession.

 

We will never be able to keep the ball like Spain or move it like Brazil but surely we can compete with your Algerias of this world who at times passed us off the pitch.

 

Someone like a Hiddink or an Arsene Wenger even...

 

As others have said, we can't keep blaming the manager but by the same token, we can't keep blaming the players who week in week out at an arguably higher level (Champions League) prove themselves to be some of the best in the world for their respective clubs.

 

I'm afraid you're deluding yourself if you think there are any good old days to look back on, least of all with Sir Bob. England teams have always had a problem with the more technical side of the game. Keeping possession is about all 10 outfield players being comfortable on the ball, and we tend to have defenders and even midfield players who are very limited in that area.

 

This current team is actually much better technically than any other that we've had. In the Algeria game, we weren't playing many long balls and were trying to keep the ball on the deck, building from the back. The trouble is, we weren't playing with enough pace and confidence to make that work.

 

Sir Bob was a great club manager but struggled at international level. It didn't really suit his style. Thanks to a lucky draw, it ended well with a place in the semi-final, but he lost his job for a reason. That semi final has tended to define Sir Bob's period in charge in the public eye, but for most of his 8 years, we were poor.

[wacko]

Where's the pool?

 

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/5967/wheresthepooltez.gif

 

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

For as big as a tit as he is, that is almost English Courage in Motion. Can't fault him for that. 

[Guest BooBoo]

Very strong performance this afternoon.

[wacko]

For as big as a tit as he is, that is almost English Courage in Motion. Can't fault him for that. 

 

If he'd got the ball, it would have been amazing.

[pedro111]

Where's the pool?

 

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/5967/wheresthepooltez.gif

 

 

That was EPIC commitment!!!  :clap:

[Guest ObiChrisKenobi]

For as big as a tit as he is, that is almost English Courage in Motion. Can't fault him for that. 

 

If he'd got the ball, it would have been amazing.

 

Give over, if that had been old man Carragher doing that you'd be singing for him to get a Knighthood! (though I might have read your post negative when it was in fact positive so sorry if you were praising it too) Anyone who has the balls to dive headfirst into a shot 5 yards away has got a huge amount of courage, and a bit of respect from me - no matter how strange it looks.

[Gash]

For as big as a tit as he is, that is almost English Courage in Motion. Can't fault him for that. 

[Minhosa]

Very solid today.

[Skeletor]

Steven Taylor would have done it in slow motion, let it hit his hand and then hold his face.

[Incognito]

Fair play to him,I thought he was immense today.

[BlufPurdi]

Ach, he's a cracking player so I'm chuffed he's put his ego behind him but I just hope he's learnt from his little experiment with the press.  Shut up, and do your talking on the field.

[Robster]

Where's the pool?

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/5967/wheresthepooltez.gif

Screaming out to be someone's avatar

 

Excellent commitment though

[BlufPurdi]

Am I the only one that thinks that was the height of stupidity?

 

Looks terribly heroic, but fuck, if that had gone in and you've got him leaping like a salmon, I'd have shot the cunt.

[Ronaldo]

Eh? What else could he have done?

[BlufPurdi]

Uch, shut up man.  Do you ever just, get the wee subtle points? 

 

I was hardly being deadly serious, you plank.

[Ronaldo]

I knew that, but there's not a hint of humour in it either.

[wacko]

For as big as a tit as he is, that is almost English Courage in Motion. Can't fault him for that. 

 

If he'd got the ball, it would have been amazing.

 

Give over, if that had been old man Carragher doing that you'd be singing for him to get a Knighthood! (though I might have read your post negative when it was in fact positive so sorry if you were praising it too) Anyone who has the balls to dive headfirst into a shot 5 yards away has got a huge amount of courage, and a bit of respect from me - no matter how strange it looks.

 

Mostly, it's the hilarity of the clip.

 

It's only really "brave" if you're a bit daft: ultimately no player has ever suffered a career-ending injury from being hit by the ball. Tackles are far more dangerous. But it was 110% pure commitment.

 

Terry or Carra, more than anything, that dive reminds me of Riise's disastrous own-goal header against Chelsea in the CL, which gives me the willies. But that's just me.

[Dokko]

Overall had a solid game, and Fabio did the right thing all round. Everyone looked fired up, what part this episode had to play and how much is debatable, but in the end it seemed like it helped, and that's only down to how they reacted and dealt with it (manger, players and Terry). Bet the papers are gutted today.

[Ketsbaia]

A twat, but a very brave twat. That was a fantastic moment.

[Zero]

Dive of the year.

[Neil]

Dive of the year.

 

Too much competition.

 

Great performance today.