Group C (England, Algeria, Slovenia, USA! USA! USA!)

[Broner]

Just back from watching the game at a mates and al i have to say is.

What a horrible Arrogant little cunt that so called world class forward for england is!

Typical footballer, so switched off from the average man supporting the game its untrue

**** you rooney, you ****ing prick

Spot on sir, it made my blood boil and i'm not even English.

[Shanks]

Why not try...

James

Carragher--Dawson--Terry--A.Cole

Johnson--Carrick--Barry--J.Cole

Gerrard

Rooney

Lampard, SWP and Lennon have offered F. All..

[Broner]

Why not try...

James

Carragher--Dawson--Terry--A.Cole

Johnson--Carrick--Barry--J.Cole

Gerrard

Rooney

Looks alright to me.

I'd possibly have Milner in there somewhere, atleast he adds a bit of energy and drive.

Lennon, Lampard and Heskey shouldn't be anywhere near the England 11 imo.

[Craig_H]

I think the players were far too casual coming into this match. During the interviews, after the US game it was all "we have 2 games to go" as if it was a done deal that we'd win them both.

Then again, that's always been a big problem for England. Arrogance.

Right, so if you had been forced to bet your house on the results of England v Algeria and England v Slovenia, you wouldnt have backed them to get the necessary points to qualify?

[Craig_H]

What's the second line that rooney says, after 'nice to have your home fans booing you' ?

I dunno why he says 'home fans' though, they're in South Africa, not at home.

The daft granny shagger.

[Broner]

Dunno, something like 'great support that is' or words to that effect.

Think he might have said 'own fans' but it did sound like he said home.

[McDermotX]

Right, so if you had been forced to bet your house on the results of England v Algeria and England v Slovenia, you wouldnt have backed them to get the necessary points to qualify?

Think the point is more that the players are not prepared to put in the necessary basic work that is involved in order to beat these supposedly lesser sides.
No matter how good or bad the opposition in the players eyes, they should be approaching the game with the maximum effort, the maximum concentration and the maximum will to win.........anything other than that, and they are cheating themselves ( not to mention their country ).
To expect just to show up against the likes of Algeria, and expect to win IS the height of arrogance in my eyes, especially when the English national team lags behind an awful lot of the world's footballing nations in the basics of technical skill, the ability to retain possession and so on.

[Shanks]

I dunno why he says 'home fans' though, they're in South Africa, not at home.

England were the home team in that match.

[Craig_H]

Think the point is more that the players are not prepared to put in the necessary basic work that is involved in order to beat these supposedly lesser sides.
No matter how good or bad the opposition in the players eyes, they should be approaching the game with the maximum effort, the maximum concentration and the maximum will to win.........anything other than that, and they are cheating themselves ( not to mention their country ).
To expect just to show up against the likes of Algeria, and expect to win IS the height of arrogance in my eyes, especially when the English national team lags behind an awful lot of the world's footballing nations in the basics of technical skill, the ability to retain possession and so on.

That's all true in theory, but if you can find me a team that always puts in maximum effort in every game, i'd be rather impressed.

It's always human nature to subconsciously 'slack off' when you think the opposition arent that good, and it happens to nigh on every team. Doesnt make it right, but the previous post implied that England were in the minority in this respect. They're not.

[Shanks]

That's all true in theory, but if you can find me a team that always puts in maximum effort in every game, i'd be rather impressed.

It's always human nature to subconsciously 'slack off' when you think the opposition arent that good, and it happens to nigh on every team. Doesnt make it right, but the previous post implied that England were in the minority in this respect. They're not.

The fact that this tournie only comes around every 4 years, I don't think it's too much to ask for maximum effort/performance in the first 4 games minimum, regardless of opposition..

This is The World Cup FFS..

This is the absolute pinnacle of a players career.
No one should be coming off that pitch, saying they could have done better..

[Craig_H]

The fact that this tournie only comes around every 4 years, I don't think it's too much to ask for maximum effort/performance in the first 4 games minimum, regardless of opposition..

This is The World Cup FFS..

This is the absolute pinnacle of a players career.
No one should be coming off that pitch, saying they could have done better..

So tell me which team in this world cup has every single player giving 100% effort for every minute of every game.

Answer - none.

[McDermotX]

That's all true in theory, but if you can find me a team that always puts in maximum effort in every game, i'd be rather impressed.

It's always human nature to subconsciously 'slack off' when you think the opposition arent that good, and it happens to nigh on every team. Doesnt make it right, but the previous post implied that England were in the minority in this respect. They're not.

Fair enough Craig........but you'd have to say it's the best teams that can do this on the most consistent basis......which is why England are not among that group.
As Johnny Giles is so fond of saying, no matter how well or bad you are playing, there is something the opposition cannot stop you doing.....and that's trying.
The basics of closing down the opposition, regaining possession, holding onto that possession.............there wasn't one player out there who could hold up there hand and claim that. Is that because there just crap (at least in Heskey's case) or is it because they expect to show up, play where Capello tells them to, and naturally they will overcome the (more technically gifted?) upstarts "who don't even play in the Premier League"

[McDermotX]

This is the absolute pinnacle of a players career.
No one should be coming off that pitch, saying they could have done better..

[Craig_H]

Thing is though, could you say Brazil gave it 100% against North Korea? Course they didnt. They did enough to win, but they certainly didnt give it their all.

That happens to pretty much every team at some point. Sometimes they get away with it, other times they dont. Brazil did. England didnt.

[Shanks]

So tell me which team in this world cup has every single player giving 100% effort for every minute of every game.

Answer - none.

We're talking about England and what we expect..