England v Jamica (BBC1 2pm)

mike65

Final warm up game with Sven looking to go 4-4-2 with Owen/Crouch up front it seems.

Starting 11 guess (well not really!)

---

Robinson

Carra---Ferdinand--Terry--Cole

Beckham--Gerrard--Lampard--Cole

---

Crouch----Owen


Mike.

Chardee MacDennis

will neville be fit for paraguay, or will carra start?

Lemlin

That's the team Sven's going to go with in the World Cup although Carra will be dropped for Neville. Speaking of which, Carra must be getting sick of playing anywhere and everywhere. Defensive midfielder against Hungary and now right back for this game.

If I was Sven, I'd drop Ferdinand and play Carragher in the middle.

EDIT; Neville will be back, he just has a slight strain.

county

i can see england getting 3 or 4 in this one and crouch doing his robot dance thing

Chardee MacDennis

Lemlin wrote:

If I was Sven, I'd drop Ferdinand and play Carragher in the middle.

i agree completely, RF is one of the most overrated defenders in the world, and has a tendancy to go wandering, as seen in the last game when he kept trying to make forwards runs and left carra having to keep covering him.

also owen really needs to be sharp in this game and bag a few if he is to be on form for next week. important game for them if you ask me, will decide if they hit the ground running against paraguay.

therecklessone

Sven's comments in yesterday's news conference (backed up by Beckham) suggest that 4-4-2 is back as plan A, with 4-5-1 (or whatever shape they take with a holding midfielder) as plan B.

TBH, I think they'll do better with plan A than plan B seeing as he seems convinced Carrick isn't the answer as DMC. They'll still lose to decent opposition with either formation, but at least the team is familiar with 4-4-2.

Lemlin

therecklessone wrote:

Sven's comments in yesterday's news conference (backed up by Beckham) suggest that 4-4-2 is back as plan A, with 4-5-1 (or whatever shape they take with a holding midfielder) as plan B.

TBH, I think they'll do better with plan A than plan B seeing as he seems convinced Carrick isn't the answer as DMC. They'll still lose to decent opposition with either formation, but at least the team is familiar with 4-4-2.

I didn't see England's game last week against Belarus but I heard Carrick was poor and basically ended his hopes of playing as the DM.

therecklessone

Lemlin wrote:

I didn't see England's game last week against Belarus but I heard Carrick was poor and basically ended his hopes of playing as the DM.

A few misplaced passes, but no worse than he was in his last three months of the season for Spurs, which leads me to believe that if he wasn't good enough against Belarus, then he shouldn't be in the squad at all based on that form.

PHB

He wasn't great against Belarus, but he wasn't playing as a pure DMC.
Even if he had some poor misplaced passes, they were just better than anybody else who can play that positions passes.

I suggested this before, but I firmly believe either Phil Neville or Nicky Butt should be called up. They are the only English players who naturally play as a DMC, and they have proven in the past they have the quality.

MrJoeSoap

PHB wrote:

I suggested this before, but I firmly believe either Phil Neville or Nicky Butt should be called up. They are the only English players who naturally play as a DMC, and they have proven in the past they have the quality.

Scott Parker too, though he is injured.

England should stick a few past Jamaica today, regardless of who/what they play.

KdjaCL

With all the England should stick a few past them posts, i just bet on jamaica @16-1


It mocks sense.


kdjac

mike65

eh?

Mike.

Lemlin

PHB wrote:

He wasn't great against Belarus, but he wasn't playing as a pure DMC.
Even if he had some poor misplaced passes, they were just better than anybody else who can play that positions passes.

I suggested this before, but I firmly believe either Phil Neville or Nicky Butt should be called up. They are the only English players who naturally play as a DMC, and they have proven in the past they have the quality.

Butt left that sort of form at Old Trafford though.

therecklessone

PHB wrote:

I suggested this before, but I firmly believe either Phil Neville or Nicky Butt should be called up. They are the only English players who naturally play as a DMC, and they have proven in the past they have the quality.

Agree with you about Neville. Even if he still persists with a CB at DMC then at least he can fill a number of roles. He either rates Carrick or he doesn't, if its the latter than drop him and get in Neville.

therecklessone

Lemlin wrote:

Butt left that sort of form at Old Trafford though.

And agree with that as well.

PHB

Yeh totally he has, but thats cause outside United people don't play him as DMC, they play him as a midfielder, which he isn't really

Last world cup he produced incredible preformances in that exact position of mopping up, and he was integral to United's DMC spot for years. I'm not saying he's at Makelele level, but he'd be better than Carragher/Rio and it appears in Sven's eyes, Carrick too.

---

What I don't get is why is Carrick there? If he is never gona get to play.
Phil Neville is apparently very hopeful of a call up, and don't forget his good pals Beckham and Gary will be bugging Sven about it.

Tusky

I would play Carragher ahead of Neville & Ferdinand.

andrewie

Tusky wrote:

I would play Carragher ahead of Neville & Ferdinand.

so you'd take two players out of a team and bring in one?

Chardee MacDennis

he means for the DM position, if sven were to play a dm i would go:

1.Carrick
2.Carra
3.Neville

although if Parker was fit, i am sure he would be playing the 4-5-1 with a DM.

MrJoeSoap

1-0 Lampard.

Great work by Crouch and Owen.

Davei141

England 1 - 0 lampard scores.

WhiteWashMan

Call_me_al wrote:

he means for the DM position, if sven were to play a dm i would go:

1.Carrick
2.Carra
3.Neville

although if Parker was fit, i am sure he would be playing the 4-5-1 with a DM.

lose the animated sig.

WhiteWashMan

and there goes that useless lampard fella and his goal every other game.

hes crap!

MrJoeSoap

WhiteWashMan wrote:

and there goes that useless lampard fella and his goal every other game.

hes crap!

11 goals in 40 games.

MrJoeSoap

2-0, own goal.

PHB

With Beckham delivering balls like that so consistantly, England can score in any match.

Davei141

2-0 - Og.

PHB

11 goals in 40 games.

Is an incredible record for an international midfielder.

MrJoeSoap

PHB wrote:

Is an incredible record for an international midfielder.

Sure is. Great finish too, plenty of players would have lashed at it and skied it.

Davei141

Crouchinho!

PHB

Whats the point in playing against a team so weak in defense?

Vokes

Greatest ever!

PHB wrote:

Whats the point in playing against a team so weak in defense?

Good point.

They should have played Norway or Denmark as preparation against Sweden.

WhiteWashMan

nice volley by crouch, but i think it was going wide and was deflected in.

Davei141

Owen!

WhiteWashMan

ah , good old mickey owen.

Davei141

Terry off, campbell on.

PHB

Terry injured?
Cole injured?
Beckham injured?

Rikand

SofaKing wrote:

Greatest ever!

Good point.

They should have played Norway or Denmark as preparation against Sweden.

they're getting preparation for the Trinidad and Tobago game i would imagine!

---

was nice to see crouch perform the robot dance again, i hope it becomes a trademark everytime he scores now!

mike65

KdjaC wrote:

i just bet on jamaica @16-1

It mocks sense.

kdjac

It does indeed mock sense.!

Its a sign of the game that the idiot in the sheepskin coat is spending more time on injury watch than the footie.

Mike.

kensutz

Easy

WhiteWashMan

jeez, thats only about the second time ive seen joe cole today.

very very quite on the wings.,

all seems to be pumped to crouch or played through the middle'
jeez jamaica are rubbish.

eirebhoy

PHB wrote:

Is an incredible record for an international midfielder.

Not if it's the only job he has to do as you say. Is a goal every 4 games worth is when you don't do anything else? Ballack's record is incredible. Lampard is playing well today I have to say. There's still only 1 player in the midfield that'll really work when the opposition have the ball.

WhiteWashMan

eirebhoy wrote:

Not if it's the only job he has to do as you say. Ballack's is incredible.

oh youre back.

just wondering if you were going to answer any of the questions i put to you about this very subject on another thread.

why not pop over and give us your thoughts, there a good lad.

and ive seen lampard all over the pitch today. you should know this, you always make a point of watching him dont you...?

Davei141

CROUCHINHO Again assisted by Carra!

WhiteWashMan

lovely through ball to carragher and great ball accross.

good finish.

and lennon and carrick on.

PHB

Lampard really has been playing excellent today in the 2 man midfield, and I don't think he normally does, but for England, he always turns out.

Pigman II

I think Crouch has finally confirmed himself as an England WorldCup starter with that peno.

KdjaCL

Great goal for th the hatrick.



kdjac

PHB

Ah it's never gona be recorded as a hattrick, the 2nd goal was an og.
He needs another to get the hattrick.

Rikand

Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man!

CROUCHINHO to lead England to WORLD CUP GLORY!!!!!

mike65

You may mock...!

Crouch/Owen is the only way forwards for the first two games certainly.

Jamica are crap but you can only beat the team in front of you and England did the job well. Pity Sven waited so long before subing Beckham for Lennon.

Mike.