official 2010 world cup thread

[countdemoney]

The US is a much different beast on the attack vs. on the defense.

Altidore is going to be a monster when he grows up and fills out. His broad but scrawny shoulders make him look like a puppy with huge paws. US Soccer has a bright future whatever the outcome on Wed.

 

[MetroStyles]

Excited for next week.

Win and US is in.

Tie and pretty much in if England-Slovenia tie, unless it's like a 3-3 tie. Also tie gets us in if Slovenia wins.

 

[svelten]

You would think FIFA would pressure the refs to let more things go in the event of a goal scoring opportunity with concerns over lack of scoring

 

[fritzl]

Originally Posted by legorogel

wheres austria?

fortunately save at home.

you know, germany sucks and nobody loves them...

 

[paraiso]

Originally Posted by Prince

Err, at every world cup there are referees from all continents, so that 'positive discrimation of Africans' call was unnecessary. Besides, Switzerland a top footballing country??

**** happens man, I've seen millions of poor calls by European referees before and I watch that **** every week.

Anyone that says the best referees come from Europe is sadly mistaken. Howard Webb (England) is one of the shittiest referees in the world. Graham Poll (ex-England) gave a player two yellow cards and kept him in the game last world cup. Italy and Spain suffer from **** refereeing as well.

The guy that did the England v Algeria is probably the best referee I've seen thus far and he's Uzbek.

 

[fritzl]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

Excited for next week.

Win and US is in.

will not happen

 

[paraiso]

Originally Posted by Neo_Version 7

The problem with England is that they don't play as a team and the team formation is usually off-balance which results in chaos. I would have played Gerrard with Rooney and put Joe Cole on the wing. On that note, Crouch and Defoe should have been playing at the beginning with Lennon and Dawson.

What's missing is a system or a football philosophy. Throwing a bunch of stars on the pitch won't work.

If you look at Brazil and how they play, Dunga has modified his squad to fit his idea and a particular style of play. He made the sacrifce of leaving top players like Pato or Ronaldinho behind to achieve this. Maybe England should do the same with a few players (I.E. Gerrard; Lampard).

I think the problem with England is that no matter what they'll keep lumping it forward to the big man eventhough none of their stars play that way at their clubs. Also, Capello's team selection is abhorrent. Why the hell did he take Crouch and Heskey when Carlton Cole and Darren bent have been miles better than them this past season? And where are Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonglahor? Did they piss off Capello?

Tonight, somewhere in Holland, Steve McLaren will sleep with a smile on his face.

 

[MetroStyles]

Foul or buttsechs. You decide.

 

[paraiso]

Originally Posted by countdemoney

The US is a much different beast on the attack vs. on the defense.

Altidore is going to be a monster when he grows up and fills out. His broad but scrawny shoulders make him look like a puppy with huge paws. US Soccer has a bright future whatever the outcome on Wed.

I'm not too sure about that. U.S. soccer has grown by leaps and bounds but if you look at the youth set up there really aren't too many promising prospects. I watch a lot of of U-20 and U-17 tournaments and you can see that countries like Mexico are developing their youth much better than we are.

Out of this current crop I'd keep Bradley, Edu, Clark and Altidore. Other than that it seems as if we have a deficit at both fullback positions and we can't produce a decent creative midfielder to save our lives. But then again, this is the first generation of seeds that were planted decades ago. In the next decade we'll have much better players than we have now.

 

[Neo_Version 7]

Originally Posted by paraiso

I think the problem with England is that no matter what they'll keep lumping it forward to the big man eventhough none of their stars play that way at their clubs. Also, Capello's team selection is abhorrent. Why the hell did he take Crouch and Heskey when Carlton Cole and Darren bent have been miles better than them this past season? And where are Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonglahor? Did they piss off Capello? Tonight, somewhere in Holland, Steve McLaren will sleep with a smile on his face.
It was pretty evident to me that England was playing with fear. The team looked unsure and nervous a majority of the match except during a few promising flicks and linkages. Rooney doesn't look all that fit to me and there doesn't seem to be any craft on the wings. Joe Cole should start the next game and throw Phillips in too as he at least attempted to get to the byline. I thought Heskey played alright as well but if the best thing we can say about him is, ''Oh, he can handle the ball okay'' then England is in serious trouble. One thing that the match showed us was that Rooney and Gerrard can work together. Oh, and replacing Green with James was one of Capello's better decisions, I must say.

 

[fwiffo]

Originally Posted by paraiso

Carlton Cole and Darren bent have been miles better than them this past season? And where are Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonglahor? Did they piss off Capello?

Never seen Bent show up scoring multiple goals, or to be honest any goals, in the big games. Cole has the touch of a brick wall.

 

[paraiso]

Originally Posted by Neo_Version 7

It was pretty evident to me that England was playing with fear. The team looked unsure and nervous a majority of the match except during a few promising flicks and linkages. Rooney doesn't look all that fit to me and there doesn't seem to be any craft on the wings. Joe Cole should start the next game and throw Phillips in too as he at least attempted to get to the byline.

I thought Heskey played alright as well but if the best thing we can say about him is, ''Oh, he can handle the ball okay'' then England is in serious trouble. One thing that the match showed us was that Rooney and Gerrard can work together. Oh, and replacing Green with James was one of Capello's better decisions, I must say.

I've always liked David James. I really don't know why he got all the calamity james stuff thrown at him since goal keepers of all stripes make howlers. Besides, one would think that a goalkeeper who pretty much carried his team to an FA cup final this year would be England's number one.

I don't think they played with nerves. I think that England has played exactly the same for two world cups and two euros under four or five different managers. They have decent players but instead of playing to their strengths most managers have them conform to what they think is best. There's a reason why McLaren, Erickson, keegan and now Capello have failed horribly. Personally, I believe that they fear the English media so much that they don't develop the balls necessary to play the right players.

 

[paraiso]

Originally Posted by fwiffo

Never seen Bent show up scoring multiple goals, or to be honest any goals, in the big games. Cole has the touch of a brick wall.

When have you seen Heskey score for England nevermind a big game? At least Bent is quick and more mobile than ******* Heskey. A player who sits on Villas bench, by the way. And Crouch is refered to as the dearth of the lesser teams which means Capello is not unfriendly with players who don't score in big occasions.

Cole is a hell of a lot better than Peter Crouch. I saw him at West ham this season and dude is sick with the ball at his feet.

 

[BP348]

I don't know anything about soccer.

What happens next week and who does the US play?

 

[coldarchon]

Originally Posted by Neo_Version 7

It was pretty evident to me that England was playing with fear.

just like france they are still going for the 90ties offside trap ..