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

[CJ]

i said in either this thread or another england one tht it doesnt look like gerrard is the captain. this doenst make me change my mind.

perhaps there are too many captains?

[McDermotX]

Too many arseholes with opinions if you ask me...................looks like Capello has lost whatever authority he had over the dressing room.
Interesting watching Souness' opinion on the matter on RTE....certainly didn't hold back on his view of some players (probably hoping Sky don't find out :bird

[red g]

yes terry was almost saying there was a revolt and we are going to tell capello how he should be doing his job!!

cant believe he was so vocal about joe cole how does that make lennon/coleman feel?

[Vermilion]

Terry is a prick, he talks ****e, and no one questions him when he does, coming out with the usual **** i see, funny to hear him say how england fans have the right to boo and no england players would ever say anything about them having that right....er..yeah...sure John...keep the spin coming....even if it is all self promotional egotistical crap to get you back on side with fans.....mr ****in Chav thinks he's mr england, would love it if Capello dropped him for disobediance....and england went on to win the world cup without him....oh how i'd laugh. Tosser.

[Reece]

Apparently Capello has backed down on his stance of announcing the team two hours before the game.

[IN_RAFA_WE_TRUST]

Apparently Capello has backed down on his stance of announcing the team two hours before the game.

Heard that on the radio.Like that is the major problem.
It will solve Englands problems.

[Charly]

Fair enough about Heskey, but he did alright in qualification.

Against pub teams. But this is the world cup, and its time for the big boys to play.

And if I am being honest, I dont remember him playing any better duing qualification. He just does the same things he always does. Running off the ball. Heading long balls to the opposition. Failing to combine with his partner.

Its time for something new, and that isnt ****.

Heskey is so bad he doesnt even get games at Villa, and they only have Carew and Agbonlahor up front.

[Mattshark]

Against pub teams. But this is the world cup, and its time for the big boys to play.

And if I am being honest, I dont remember him playing any better duing qualification. He just does the same things he always does. Running off the ball. Heading long balls to the opposition. Failing to combine with his partner.

Its time for something new, and that isnt ****.

Heskey is so bad he doesnt even get games at Villa, and they only have Carew and Agbonlahor up front.

And yet he has still been England best striker so far, actually playing while on the pitch (unlike Rooney) and getting England's only assist.
Heskey is not the problem.

[Kenneth]

And yet he has still been England best striker so far, actually playing while on the pitch (unlike Rooney) and getting England's only assist.
Heskey is not the problem.

[Charly]

And yet he has still been England best striker so far, actually playing while on the pitch (unlike Rooney) and getting England's only assist.
Heskey is not the problem.

He most certainly is. Unless you stopped watching five minutes into the USA game. He has done nothing since then.

We have to make it work with the players we have, and unless Heskey brings out the best in other players, which is the argument that is used. Undirtunately, I have seen no evidence of this, as all of the players around Heskey have been ****. In fact, what qualities does Heskey possess? He works hard? I disagree. I dont even think he works hard. He runs around a lot, but thats not the same thing.

[Shaggy]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...-england-squad

Fabio Capello moved to reassert complete control over the England set-up last night after successfully deflecting a proposed challenge to his authority by disgruntled players at a scheduled team meeting.

The former captain John Terry suggested the time had come for the players to speak their mind after a stuttering start to the side's World Cup campaign but ended up in danger of being left isolated within the England camp after senior team-mates reacted with dismay to him going public with their desire for a clear-the-air meeting with the manager.

Terry was eventually persuaded against speaking at the meeting by a member of Capello's coaching staff and with no guarantee that other players would fall in line behind him, even though they had agreed in principle with the need to air their opinions. The manager nevertheless made some nominal concessions to appease his squad. There were suggestions last night those could include abandoning his controversial policy of informing the players of his line-up only two hours before kick-off, though that would represent a radical change of policy.

Capello also expressed a willingness to enter into more dialogue with his squad but, while player power appears to have been largely nullified, Terry's earlier comments had served to expose the tension within the England set-up. Frustration has mounted after successive draws left them needing to beat Slovenia on Wednesday to avoid elimination at the group stage of the World Cup for the first time since 1958.

The 29-year-old had faced the media yesterday "on behalf of the team" and suggested he would head a group of players in expressing their concerns to the manager in the evening's get-together at the side's hotel at Royal Bafokeng. "The players can say how they feel and, if it upsets him, then I'm on the verge of just saying: 'You know what? So what?'" said Terry. "If we can't be honest with each other, then there's no point us being here."

The centre-half made no mention of David Beckham, whose role at present is that of a liaison between players and management, but had named a group that included the current captain, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney, who had all stayed up in the wake of Friday's dismal draw with Algeria to discuss the team's shortcomings and their frustrations with the World Cup campaign to date. The players had been keen to let Capello know their grievances but an uneasiness surfaced within the squad that Terry's outburst had gone too far.

The defender had clearly felt he had a mandate to speak for the squad at the time. There had been murmurings of discontent from some within the set-up at a perceived lack of preparatory work – most notably a lack of planning on how to break down Algeria's three-man defence – and a desire to switch to a 4-5-1 formation that would include the as yet unused substitute, Joe Cole.

There was dissatisfaction, too, in the manner in which the staff dealt with the goalkeeping situation after Rob Green's error against the USA, with matters not helped by the team being closeted away in their training camp for long periods.The build-up of tension appeared to be showing on the pitch, with Rooney reacting furiously to the chorus of boos that greeted the goalless stalemate at Green Point stadium on Friday.

Terry had hoped a meeting would have a similar effect to that in 1990 when a delegation of senior players including Bryan Robson, Gary Lineker and Peter Shilton had urged Bobby Robson to switch from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2 after the opening draw against the Republic of Ireland. "We owe it to ourselves and to everyone in the country that, if we feel there's a problem, there's no point in keeping it in," Terry had said. "If I say something tonight, and I probably will and a few others will, then I'm doing the best for England.

"With previous managers, I've stood up and others have done the same. It's not one of those things where the manager calls the shots and that's it. People have got this picture of him where you can't say stuff in meetings. We have a responsibility to ourselves, to the manager and everyone else to voice an opinion and hope he takes it on board."

Capello himself has appeared at a loss as to why a team that breezed impressively through qualification are now struggling to impose their quality at the finals proper. The England manager has already had to field questions over his future should the team fail to progress out of the group, with the Football Association moving to reaffirm its support last night in the wake of suggestions that the manager may consider resigning should Slovenia not be beaten on Wednesday.

Asked whether he felt the side's current travails made the last two years of hard work count for nothing, the Italian replied: "Yes, it does. I don't know why or how the players have arrived at this point. The training is good, so I can't understand why they don't transfer that form on to the pitch. It is simply the fear that stops the legs, that stops the mind, that stops everything. I'm not criticising them for that. I know the problem, it happens sometimes in important matches, this pressure. This is a big challenge, and a big pressure for me and the team."

Terry had rejected Capello's notion that the side was gripped by anxiety. "That's a little bit insulting, because we are not," he said. Yet he admitted they had needed to relax in the wake of Friday's draw. "I don't want to say it was me but I went to see [the general manager] Franco Baldini after the game and said: 'Look, let everyone have a beer and speak to the manager. Flippin' hell, let's just switch off.'

"We did. The manager was sitting there with a bottle of red wine and his staff. It was more relaxed from him and us. For the first time since the manager has taken over we sat there and he let us have a beer. Seven or eight players sat there talking about the game. It was good to get things off our chest and express how we felt. The discussions between the players will stay private, but it was really nice to unwind. That togetherness has been missing maybe at times.."

The suggestion of a weight of support behind Cole within the squad was fuelled by Terry's assertion that "only he and Wayne can open up defences" in the current set-up, though Capello has made it clear he will not concede ground to player power.

"It's the manager's decision," added Terry. "Listen, Joe is one of the best players in our country. He has come back from an injury and showed great form for Chelsea. It still amazes me how the club have come to the conclusion of letting Joe go. That is another story but he can surely do things whether he starts or comes on for England."

[Shaggy]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...fabio-capello?

The former England defender Gary Neville believes it is time for Fabio Capello to stop trying to accommodate players in the national team and start playing people in their best positions.

Neville, who won the last of his 85 caps in February 2007, believes the Italian has to dispense with the "outdated" 4-4-2 formation if they are to have any chance of success at the World Cup.

The Manchester United captain feels Steven Gerrard should be freed from the limitations of his left-midfield role and given an attacking role – similar to the one he has at Liverpool – behind Wayne Rooney.

"I was surprised at the insistence on continuing to play 4-4-2 against Algeria," said Neville. "It was made for Gerrard to get closer to Rooney; you could see Rooney getting frustrated by the lack of possession.

"Our best player against Algeria – Gerrard – was sacrificed to the left. He should be in central positions affecting the game like he was in the first match [against the United States].

"If he's not going to be in central midfield with Frank Lampard, he has to play off the front.

"Let's start by playing our best players in their best positions. Rooney is a centre-forward who has played up front on his own all season and scored 32 goals [34 in fact]; Gerrard plays off the front and in central positions for Liverpool. So let's play them where they are most comfortable and the rest of the players can fall into place.

"I did think going towards the latter stages of the tournament we would have to play three in midfield, with Gerrard off Rooney. Emile Heskey has done pretty well but I think perhaps he has to become a victim of the need to change the system.

"We shouldn't manoeuvre our best players to fit in a system I think is out-dated at international level."

After a 1-1 draw with the USA and a goalless outing against Algeria, England have to beat Slovenia, currently top of Group C with four points, to ensure they progress.

Neville feels the players have suddenly been struck down by low confidence, despite an impressive qualifying campaign when they won nine out of 10 matches.

"There seems to be a lack of belief in the team," the 35-year-old said. "Some England players I have played with over the past 15 years didn't seem to be themselves.

"You could point to a number of factors: it could be that players are not in form and are not feeling good about themselves, or it could be because of injuries and uncertainty about defensive positions and the goalkeeper.

"But for me, against Slovenia on Wednesday there will have to be a change in the style of play. It doesn't seem to me that the players are totally comfortable with the way they are playing.

"People mentioned the word 'fear' after the Algeria game. But if England were to beat Slovenia, there would be a completely different atmosphere around the squad.

"If the players play in positions where they can play to their potential, I think we will see the best of them."

[Fernandinho]

still hate him even though he complemented gerrard

[Shaggy]

**** yeah.

[Mattshark]

He most certainly is. Unless you stopped watching five minutes into the USA game. He has done nothing since then.

We have to make it work with the players we have, and unless Heskey brings out the best in other players, which is the argument that is used. Undirtunately, I have seen no evidence of this, as all of the players around Heskey have been ****. In fact, what qualities does Heskey possess? He works hard? I disagree. I dont even think he works hard. He runs around a lot, but thats not the same thing.

No you are simply scapegoating him. How is it his fault that Rooney has been **** exactly? How is his fault that England's midfield has been ****?
If you think Rooney did more than Heskey has, you are simply blind or ridiculously bias.