I think that Rooney has been rushed into the team. I dont think that he has recovered but he will play if Sven want him to. Which means he will either be bellow par or he will get injured again. (I am probably the only person in the whole of England that doesn't think Rooney is the best footballer since Pele)
I still think England have enough about them to beat Paraguay but Paraguay are the outsiders of the group and anything can happen in football.
"there's only one way to win a war: shout, shout, and shout again!" - The Duke of Wellington ((Blackadder - Stephen Fry))
I would think that Rooney will sit out until the second round. England should easily pass into the second round, but I think that Paraguay is the wild card of the group so to speak. They could make it difficult for England.
Personally, I don't like Rooney. He is too much of a hot head.
Rooney is overrated but lets be honest here Beckham, Owen and Cole are overrated but the diffrence the last three do not belive the hype Rooney does belive all that is written about him.
As for Sven apparently he told Alex Ferguson that HE would decide when Rooney was ready and he would not even inform him of when he planned to play Rooney he also apprently told Alex that if he does not like it he can f*** off. Yep Svens a barve man when it not his player and when Alex Ferguson is thousands of miles away. serioulsy do you think he would have said that to Fergusons face and more importantly if you think he would do you think he would have survived.
Anyway reports are that Ferguson is on a planbe to Germany with a baseball bat in hand, I understand the bat, after all you have to give Sven a fighting chance.
An ordinary match in the end dominated by a sub-standard ref and Sven's tactical mistakes in the seconds half. A lucky goal by England and despite failing to score a second they were in no trouble at all due to Paraguays inability to score after good moves.
"there's only one way to win a war: shout, shout, and shout again!" - The Duke of Wellington ((Blackadder - Stephen Fry))
What England are lacking right now is a creative player that can get a defender or two a yard out of position. Right now they are playing like Man U without Ronaldo, lots of players that can put one away, but no space to do it in. Rooney may be overrated, but he provides a creative flair that creates shooting opportunities. They dont need him in the first round, they may not need him in the second, but when it gets down to 8 he will will be the linchpin to Englands success
No England have creative players. Gerrard, Lampard, Joe Cole, Shawn Wright-Phillips, Theo Walcott (going on his Southamton days) and (even though I dont like him) Beckham.
What England is lacking is a manager who understands English Football. The Premeirship is almost constant fast paced, attacking football. A defensive side tends to get mauled in the English Premiership.The mentality of English teams is, once you score one score again and again and again until you are sure of victory.
Sven has never understood that. He was made famous for taking Lazio to glory but Italian football is more about defence than attack. Because he has never controled and English team he doesn't understand that the English attack.
The whole English set up is attacking. The only totally defensive player in an English side is the goalkeeper. The central defenders do their job well but they also attack. The left and right backs attack down the wing and the Midfielders rarely defend. Attack is what the style of English football is.
If you watch the fast paced Premeirship then compare it to Sven's 'score then defend' you will see that Sven just has no clue on how to control and English team.
"there's only one way to win a war: shout, shout, and shout again!" - The Duke of Wellington ((Blackadder - Stephen Fry))
I was dissapointed with England but that is the story of all England sides I have watched. Admittedly back in the 90's it was because England tended to throw away strong positions and now it is because they seem to just be poor inevery match I see them in.
England controled the first half but then in the second half Owen was taken off for Stuart Downing and Joe Cole was replaced Owen Hargreaves adn appart from one shot from Lampard, England just sat back and let Paraguay attack them.
If Valdez or Roque Santa Cruz could have found their shooting boots today England would have lost.
"there's only one way to win a war: shout, shout, and shout again!" - The Duke of Wellington ((Blackadder - Stephen Fry))
I saw the game and I thought England were good first half but poor second half. Going on the 2nd half performance if that was a Brazil or Holland England would have been in serious trouble.
A little question that maybe somebody coud answer - When was the last time England scored a ssecond half goal in the World cup? I kow they did not do it Japan and I am not sure if they did it in France.
I must say I was impressed with Trinidad and Tobago getting a draw with Sweden. It's even more impressive when you consider that there are no huge name players in the squad. I think England will beat them next week but it will be tough as the players looked super fit and very passionate.
Also Trinidad have a player called Jason Scotland. So everyone is wrong Scotland did make it to the world cup.
P.S. I know this is not about England but as it is in the same group I thought I could stick it here.
I beg to differ about Trinidad and Tobago having no big name.
What about Dwight Yorke? Man Utd legend and one of the greatest goal scorers the Premiership ever had. Admittedly he played defence today but he was very good at that as well.
How about Shaka Hislop? former Readin, Newcastle and Portsmouth keeper. Current West Ham keeper. Leader of the 'Kick Racism out of football' campaign.
Stern John has a good reputation in England.
Jason Scotland and Russell Latapy have a good reputation in Scotland as well, as far as my knowledge for Scottish football goes.
But it was still a great result for them. Nobody expected T&T to get anything out of the game. Maybe they will be the suprise team of the tornament.
"there's only one way to win a war: shout, shout, and shout again!" - The Duke of Wellington ((Blackadder - Stephen Fry))
What I meant was that in the context of the world cup they are not up there with the Lampards or the Larsson's or the Ronaldo's of the tournament.
Latapy and Scotland and Samuel and Jack and Andrews and the other 5 that play in Scotland all have exceelnt reputations up north but I did not know that anybody had heard of them down south.
Biut it is good to see the smallest team ( in size of country) get a good start how far will they go ? don't know but as Marvin Andrews told the Rangers players, manger and sans once "keep believing"
06-09-2006 07:16 PM
