England made it through. Despite talk of who they face next, and the path that could've been, surely the main thing is that their through, I'd take back to back matches against Argentina and Brazil if it meant reaching the knock-out stages. the game against the USA wasn't as calamitous as a drunken me first thought and after sleeping on it, was acceptable. the real worry was the step backwards England took against Algeria, I mean where the fuck do you go from there. John Terry made himself out to be 'The Big I Am'. Though said nothing in the subsequent meeting and was slapped down by bezzie mate Lampard the next day and very publicly by Capello. If there were more experienced English defenders, Terry may have made his last start for England. not the best build up to a must win game. Personally I had England down to win 3-1, so confident was I...it may have been more hope than belief. In the end England came good and dug out a pretty reassured 1-0.
David James was solid and dependable, not asked to do too much, but covered what he had to with confidence, couldn't ask a lot more. terry put in a monster of a block, and with his arms down which must have gone against all his Chelsea instincts (thank God it wasn't Carragher). Matthew Upson made a superb tackle towards the end, timing was perfect, and after a performance where he cleaned up comfortably and cleanly throughout. Glen Johnson still looks like the pitch slopes, downhill when he's attacking, uphill on the way back. How does a man skin an opponent one way on a pitch and struggle to catch him the other, curious. Ashley Cole was good,solid and complete, but ths tournament is the first time I'm feeling he's getting older, he still feels like a new kid in the team but is 29 and a few thing are noticeable, the pace that rectified any mistake isn't what it was, and getting up and down the pitch isn't as carefree. But beyond the back four Gerrard stayed disciplined, Lampard was better (not sure how much that means, surely he's there but for a lack of alternatives), Gary Barry was wasteful and gave away possession with some really sloppy passes. Milner was a revelation on the right, pace or not, Lennon could learn from him. create a yard of space and after a few 'range finder' attempts puts crosses into the danger area time after time. is he the future of English football? Maybe. Also his maturity in seeing out the game in the corner of the pitch was way beyond his years, how many times have we seen players get towards the flag and then put in a speculative ball instead of running it into the corner? Well played Milner, a sterling effort. Rooney looked more like himself, not the running, shooting passing creative machine of Manchester United, but closer than we'd seen in the competition. There's time for Rooney, and if he can't spark against the Germans, then maybe he's not the international player we think. Defoe, little Jermaine Defoe, the publics opinion of him has never matched his own, yet he was there when it counted, A real poachers goal and well played to the man, he was lost under a barrage of high balls for a while, but anything coming in from the wings he looked lively. Great movement, great pace and great composure when it mattered. Unlucky not to get a couple.
This was a performance we could be happy with, and this was a performance that maybe was growing in the USA match but was stunted with the Green effect. There is still no excuse for what we saw against Algeria, but England are on the way. I was sorry that Slovenia missed out so late on. Caello must have been baffled, the team he made in the qualifiers were nowhere to be found in the first 6 days of the tournament, that's not bad management, that's players leaving their comfort zone and finding the hype might not be the truth, and worst of all the media that loves them in the premiership might vilify them internationally. Capello is a great manager, there is no arguing with that, and whatever happens he made England a better team, I hope he's there post-tournament whatever happens from here on. the one question I do have is, why, when Joe Cole came on did Cole not move out to the left and Gerrard move into the middle, surely that would've suited both parties and J.Cole wouldn't have given the ball away as often as he did in the last 5 minutes. Other than that, in Capello I trust.
Landon Donovan believes the USA can beat anyone at this World Cup. Really? Really landycakes is that what you think? Ghane for the Quarter-finals anyone?
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In FABS we trust. Great read PT.
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