***1st March Internationals spoilers***

[mmj_uk]

The only person for me that didn't seem to pull his weight was Ferdinand. Sloppy passing, giving the ball away a few times because he'd seemingly lost concentration and just not up for it in general.

The guy's a time bomb just waiting to blow up in our faces, he obviously has talent but his attitude stinks, he thinks he's the man and rarely comes out of 1st gear, you'll probably find him in the dictionary under 'casual'.

 

[Manlove is my forte]

Becks is no longer bringing anything to the England squad. When was the last time a Becks cross resulted in a goal? When was the last time a becks free kick hit the back of the net (from the inside of the goal)? When Becks is on the pitch he dominates our attacking play and rarely plays in position.

Becks imo is one of the reasons Lamps and Gerrard have always looked so mediocre in an England shirt. I would like to see how they do together with SWP on the right and J. Cole on the left before deciding once and for all if they can play on the pitch together.

If they still cant get it together then put Carrick on in place of one of them and see what happens. You can always swap at half time if things aren't going well.

The Great news from this game is we no longer have a problem in Left Midfield. Joe Cole has made that position his own.]


After the world cup we need a full restructuring. Get rid of the dead wood and mediocre players. Jenas shouldn't be allowed to but a England shirt in from a store, let alone be given one and asked to play for the country.

 

[TomHark]

Also those who mentioned about King's display against the Argies, he was basically being played as a 3rd centreback that game. A player of Riquelmes
pedigree requires a truley defensive holding player, King fitted the bill in that scenario. If Gerrard had been put there I think England would have lost that game.

King was taken off after 57 ineffectual minutes when we were losing and we went on to win the game (interestingly, Gerrard finished the game at right back!)

I don't disagree that Gerrard is better as an attacking midfielder, in fact I would have tried him on the right wing where he has been excellent for Liverpool this season, but King is not the answer in the middle. He is a good centre back, but one decent performance against an average Poland side does not make him an international class midfielder.

 

[Nogimmix]

What about Nigel Reo-Coker, he should be given a chance in one of the friendlies. He is the captain of West Ham, consistant at U21 level, great engine, can tackle, pass and score goals, which is more than Carrick.

 

[BaZ87]

I'd put Parker as a better passer of the ball than Carrick, and he's got more goals in him. I think he's more box-to-box than Carrick though.

I wouldn't say he was a better passer but he would offer more energy and passion in his play. The way Parker plays; i would prefer him to be in the squad ahead of Jenas as Parker would give us another option.

 

[zenith10]

did anyone think that joe cole wandered too much, most of the time i seen him he was coming into the middle of the pitch instead of bombing down the wing

 

[Weebull]

That's just the nature of him being a right-footed player out on the left side really. He can't bomb it down to the touchline and whip it in because he's not left-footed, so he'll generally cut in a bit more and play it through.

I don't think he does it nearly as much as he used to though, as he's learned to stay out on the left more now.

 

[BaZ87]

That's just the nature of him being a right-footed player out on the left side really. He can't bomb it down to the touchline and whip it in because he's not left-footed, so he'll generally cut in a bit more and play it through.

I don't think he does it nearly as much as he used to though, as he's learned to stay out on the left more now.

Yea i agree that he will naturally come inside, being right footed, which makes it even more important that Beckham stays wide on the right because when he comes inside aswell our play gets very narrow.

 

[Stag]

King was taken off after 57 ineffectual minutes when we were losing and we went on to win the game (interestingly, Gerrard finished the game at right back!)

I don't disagree that Gerrard is better as an attacking midfielder, in fact I would have tried him on the right wing where he has been excellent for Liverpool this season, but King is not the answer in the middle. He is a good centre back, but one decent performance against an average Poland side does not make him an international class midfielder.

He kept Riquelme comparitively quiet, the attacking flair of the Argies in midfield would keep any player busy.

However I never said I wanted King in the middle, give me Carrick any day!

 

[BaZ87]

He kept Riquelme comparitively quiet, the attacking flair of the Argies in midfield would keep any player busy.

I don't think he kept Riquelme too quiet to be honest. I thourght Riquelme was quite influential during that game. Riquelme was the only Argentine player (during that match) that impressed me in fact.