World Cup 2010 - England
Chelsea was the deserving Champions of the EPL! They did it in style scoring a record 103 goals. Carlo Ancelotti basically inherited the team from Jose Mourinho and as you know Mourinho doesn't play soccer, he stifles opponents and stop them from playing to get a result and for that he was outstanding like how his Inter stopped Barcelona. Johan Cruyff, Barcelona's Honourary Life President remarked that Barcelona must never play like that with reference to Mourinho.
Ancelotti just tweaked them into a more adventurous side. You can say that now Chelsea is most likely to retain their crown again next season as they already have "the team" and will likely add more and as a form of renewal to reduce the average age. Manchester United will have to rebuild and that may take 1-2 years before they can come back with a shout. Arsenal may be the team to watch as they played some great soccer, had stayed together for awhile and if they could retain Cesc Fabregas and add a few more class players especially in defence then we they can start talking business.
Liverpool probably need new owners to sack Benitez who did spent some money but on very poor quality players throughout. If he stays longer Liverpool would be destroyed. It will unfortunately take another few years before they could reinstate their challenge. Lately, my swing resembles that of Tiger Woods. I'm talking about golf not the other kind of swing. If I say this a year ago, I'm talking championship form but now resembling Tiger is not a good thing. He has pulled out and parted ways with his swing coach and I am considering but I have no one to sack.
Ancelotti just tweaked them into a more adventurous side. You can say that now Chelsea is most likely to retain their crown again next season as they already have "the team" and will likely add more and as a form of renewal to reduce the average age. Manchester United will have to rebuild and that may take 1-2 years before they can come back with a shout. Arsenal may be the team to watch as they played some great soccer, had stayed together for awhile and if they could retain Cesc Fabregas and add a few more class players especially in defence then we they can start talking business.
Liverpool probably need new owners to sack Benitez who did spent some money but on very poor quality players throughout. If he stays longer Liverpool would be destroyed. It will unfortunately take another few years before they could reinstate their challenge. Lately, my swing resembles that of Tiger Woods. I'm talking about golf not the other kind of swing. If I say this a year ago, I'm talking championship form but now resembling Tiger is not a good thing. He has pulled out and parted ways with his swing coach and I am considering but I have no one to sack.
Whenever you face failure do not give up! Roy Hodgson has been voted Manager of The Year! They have heard me. Harry Redknapp had so much trouble before but he kept bouncing back and this is his best year yet bringing Spurs from relegation threatened to fourth. What about Steve "Wally with the Brolly" McClaren, carrying an umbrella in the rain as his England was beaten by Croatia the last time? McClaren has brought the Dutch Title to FC Twente for the first time in 40 years! These are extraordinary stories to celebrate. Remember this - keep bouncing back! Defeats and setbacks are only temporary!
Meanwhile, a few teams for the World Cup has named their squad. Some players will be missing. From Brazil, Adriano, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, ROberto Carlos have not been selected. From France - Viera and Benzema, Argentina - Zavier Zanetti, Holland - van Nistelrooy, Italy - Francesco Totti and Luca Toni while Spain has included injured trio Xavi, Fabregas and Fernando Torres.
England World Cup Squad of 30
Fabio Capello announced his squad of 30 as follows and the squad will be further reduced to a final 23:
Defenders: Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Leighton Baines, Matthew Upson, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King, Andy Cole, Stephen Warnock, Michael Dawson.
Midfielders: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Shaun-Wright Philips, James Milner, Theo Walcott, Tim Huddlestone, Aaron Lennon, Adam Johnson, Joe Cole, Scott Parker, Gareth Barry.
Strikers: Peter Crouch, Emile Heskey, Jermain Defoe, Darren Bent, Wayne Rooney.
From here, you can see that 3 goalies, 10 defenders, 12 midfielders and 5 strikers have been named. When the final cut comes around, they will probably retain 3 goalies, drop 2 defenders, drop 4 midfielders and drop 1 striker to give a final cut of 23 man. Who will be dropped? Surprisingly, Aston Villa's Ashley Young who had a great season and Gabriel Agbonlahor were left out. Young could have been a god choice with his pace and wicked crosses. Man City's Micah Richards is missing too.
Defence: Key players will be Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry and Andy Cole. Leftbacks Leighton Baines has a great season with Everton while Warnock a former Liverpool player has served Villa well. Upson is steady but has never been outstanding for England. Jamie Carragher may be slow but is highly experienced and on his day have stopped Kaka and Messi. He was recalled due to potential injury problems to offer a calming influence when needed plus he is versatile.
Dawson has an outstanding season with Spurs and was a surprise but injuries to Lescott and Jonathan Woodgate may have help too. Ledley King is actually an outstanding defender but a crocked knee requires him to train only once a week. Capello must have thought highly of him to put him in taking a risk. Thierry Henry at his peak, named King as his most difficult opponent further stating that King is so good that he could win the ball from strikers without committing a foul in doing so. Baines is the best deputy for Cole while Carragher though a centre-half can play at right back. This will leave Dawson, Warnock and Upson vulnerable. I think that Warnock and Upson could be left behind.
Midfield: Gerrard, Lampard and Barry (if he recovers) will play itself and I suspect James Milner who this season won the PFA Young Player of the year. Huddlestone can hit long balls and thunderbolts at goal as he has shown for Spurs while Carrick is a distributor. Joe Cole is a wonderful player who can offer something different but he has to find his feet as he has not featured regularly for Chelsea. When he's good, he's really very good. Scott Parker is a destroyer.
Shaun-Wright Philips is tricky but sometimes can be ineffective. Aaron Lennon is a speed demon just recoverd from injury but he is a must when fit and Theo Walcott is someone who once he gets past a defender off he goes. He's hattrick against Croatia comes to mind but he has been in spurts for Arsenal. I have been advocating for new boy Adam Johnson and Capello heard me. Johnson worked his magic with Manchester City and is an effective winger who can play on either side and can be the joker in the pack. Capello has named four speedy wingers to show his intention. I think Carrick, SWP, Parker and Cole may be out.
Attack: Peter Crouch is not a bad striker though he looks more like a bean pole. He has never let England down scoring regularly - 18 goals in 36 games. He could also do fancy goals. His vital goal for Spurs clinched them the fourth spot. Impish Defoe is fast and can be a prolific scorer and just had a brilliant season with Spurs including a five-goal spree in a match. Bent is strong and physical and among the top scorers this season despite playing for mid-table Sunderland.
Rooney needs no introduction while Emile Heskey if selected will be merely for tactical reason. Heskey can't score but he could hold the ball and bring others into play. Somehow a few managers like him for that. I feel it is time that Heskey be dropped. Looking at this forward line, I think Rooney has to do a Rambo upfront - a one man fighting machine unless Defoe comes of age. Crouch can offer an alternative while Bent goes on standby. England's midfielders and wingers will then have to play a crucial role. Booby Zamora who starred for Fulham would have been a better choice than Heskey but injury have robbed him.
To win the World Cup, you need a band of brothers to fight tenaciously. You need to peak in physical condition at the right time and you need to build your tempo to top form. You need an outstanding player in each key position to hold the fortress and playing out of your skin. When England last won, they had Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore, Alan Ball, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst just o name a few. Germany once had Sepp Maier, Franz Beckanbauer, Paul Breitner, Gerd Muller, Wolfgang Overath, Brazil had Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Lucio, Dunga, Kaka. Farance had Fabian Barthez, Laurent Blanc, Zinedine Zidane David Trezequet, Thierry Henry and so on. Do you see a golden generation in this England line up?
Who Should Wear The Gloves?
The Greatest Save Ever: Banks was going across the goalmouth where Jairzinho was charging from to cross and had to back pedal to make an impossible save from Edson Arantes do Nascimento aka Pele who headed the ball down and towards goal and was already celebrating when Banks somehow save it. Warning: Please do not try it at home:
Joe Hart, I like this boy, fearless and a maverick:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=joe+hart+save&aq=2
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=joe+hart+save&aq=2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJWBZ1ANAY8
David James:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8HecAG24-A
At goal, it is strange to see England struggling as they used to have the best in the world. There was a time where Gordon Banks, Ray Clemence, Peter Shilton and Joe Corrigan could represent any country. Even David Seaman despite being lobbed by Ronaldinho from afar. Today they are facing inexperience and indifferent form. I'm afraid though Capello knew who's playing in his team, he hasn't quite figured out who will be playing at goal. Italy has Buffon with 100 caps and 4 Serie A titles, Spain has Iker Casillas at 102 caps and he's only 28 having won 4 La Liga and 3 Champions League titles and they were both captains in Euro 2008.
Brazil's Julio Cesar's is among the best playing for Inter. The French has Hugo Lloris who was in top form for Lyon this season while Germany has Rene Adler form Bayer Leverkusen. Paul Robinson was a good goalie and playing well for Blackburn but when he was no.1, there was no competition and he put on too much weight. Robert Green seems to have the edge as he started in six of England's last ten games. David James is highly experienced and is an excellent shot-stopper but both of them were playing fro demoralised teams in West Ham and Portsmouth respectively but Joe Hart on loan from Manchester City to Birmingham is the best having been voted into the best XI of the just concluded EPL season.
Down to form Hart is must surely start and his only handicap is inexperience though he is always fearless showing no nerves. James is the oldest, injury prone but is higly capable and he just has this ability for the spectacular but Green has been steady, even reliable eventhough he remains unspectacular. Great goalkeepers has this great awareness of space and know exactly when to come off his line to kill that space. Think Ray Clemence during his Liverpool days where he operated like the last man, a sweeper. He has to make the right choice as the man guarding the stanchion either help to push his defence further upfield to pressure the opponents or create nervousness in defence.
Brazil's Julio Cesar's is among the best playing for Inter. The French has Hugo Lloris who was in top form for Lyon this season while Germany has Rene Adler form Bayer Leverkusen. Paul Robinson was a good goalie and playing well for Blackburn but when he was no.1, there was no competition and he put on too much weight. Robert Green seems to have the edge as he started in six of England's last ten games. David James is highly experienced and is an excellent shot-stopper but both of them were playing fro demoralised teams in West Ham and Portsmouth respectively but Joe Hart on loan from Manchester City to Birmingham is the best having been voted into the best XI of the just concluded EPL season.
Down to form Hart is must surely start and his only handicap is inexperience though he is always fearless showing no nerves. James is the oldest, injury prone but is higly capable and he just has this ability for the spectacular but Green has been steady, even reliable eventhough he remains unspectacular. Great goalkeepers has this great awareness of space and know exactly when to come off his line to kill that space. Think Ray Clemence during his Liverpool days where he operated like the last man, a sweeper. He has to make the right choice as the man guarding the stanchion either help to push his defence further upfield to pressure the opponents or create nervousness in defence.
Can England Defend?
Actually England do have a sound defence. Ferdinand is elegant and good in bringing the ball up. Terry is the kind of leader you want around when the chips are down. Both are good in the air and can be a threat in set pieces. Carragher and King are experienced and capable while fullbacks Johnson and Cole supports the attack very well. Here, the English can be prone to the occasional lapse in concentration or get caught being slow. Attack may be the best form of defence but any team with serious ambitions need to start with a sound and solid defence.
Will The Engine Room Finally Work?
Steven Gerrard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8RG2qjivms
Frank Lampard - must see the best goal v Barcelona when Lampard scored one like Marco van Basten:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2DE84vqnlM
They have said for ages that Gerrard and Lampard, two outstanding individuals cannot play together. Regardless of this, it is key for Barry to recover form injury for he has played in 27 out of the last 29 games. He gave England stability. Having been crying for years that they lack a natural left-footed player in the middle, they now have Adam Johnson in my opinion a very good winger who not only could score but he makes better crosses that the others including Lennon.
He could be the joker in the pack to fill that left side slot but Milner is the more likely candidate at first. For England to really have a chance, Gerrard and Lampard must bring in their best forms they have given to Liverpool and Chelsea. Only then will they be among the best. Individually on their club form, they are among the best in Europe.
The Finish
Nothing you do will matter if you don not have the finishing. When Rooney played his first Euro as a very young man, he proved too much to handle and could have starred in the tournament but injury ruled him out early. He scored 34 goals in all competition this season and was voted both PFA Player of the year and Football Writers Footballer of the year.
He is definitely one of the world's top players alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He will be England's crown jewel. Who will Capello put alongside him or will Don Fabio play him alone up front in order to crank up the midfield? Clinical finishing will be he order of the day for this is the World Cup! Can England hold their nerves? Will their best be up to where Bobby Robson has brought them previously? If they can play through to meet Brazil and then beat Brazil, they will win the World Cup! I leave you with none other than Wayne Rooney:
He is definitely one of the world's top players alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He will be England's crown jewel. Who will Capello put alongside him or will Don Fabio play him alone up front in order to crank up the midfield? Clinical finishing will be he order of the day for this is the World Cup! Can England hold their nerves? Will their best be up to where Bobby Robson has brought them previously? If they can play through to meet Brazil and then beat Brazil, they will win the World Cup! I leave you with none other than Wayne Rooney:
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