Against the USA, Green had his gardening gloves on and his slip was very, very costly.
Against Algeria we were simply very poor and had no spark.
Worst was to come though, Germany 4 England 1 reads like a bed dream but dream it is not.
We were beaten and deserved to lose but can rightfully claim to have been robbed at the same time.
Frank Lampard had scored a great equaliser and the team was looking rampant. Dancing and shouting fans were celebrating until we saw the goalkeeper reach into the back of the net and pull the ball back into the field of play.
Unbelievably we then watched as he punted the ball upfield and the referee waved play on. The roars of delight quickly changed to a cacophany of sound but a far different one. The booing seemed to come from the whole ground as the spectators called out in their thousands.
Today as we read the paper of our choice they mainly call for the head of the manager and castigate the players. The poor under priviledged guys that earn fortunes every single week of the year.
Peter Crouch an exSaints player barely had a chance to shine, yet he is by far and away the most prolific of our current strikers. So why when everything else failed, did he not get a game?
The manager has made many mistakes in some peoples minds. The worst ones to my mind were the inclusion of Ledley King, Barry and Wright-Phillips.
King has been proved a calamity that was waiting to happen. Sadly the man does not have the legs to continue at the highest level.
Wright-Phillips has been pushed aside by Adam Johnson at Manchester City yet is still worth a place in the England team. How that works out is still unclear to me.
Gareth Barry has been badly short of fitness and has been shown up for it over and over again. Though his lack of pace hasn’t helped.
The manager has gone on record as saying that he would not take any player that was not fully fit. That, if true, has been proven to be a downright lie.
Back in 1950 the USA beat us 1-0 in the World Cup finals. This loss of two points to them has proved to be just as painful a blow.
The manager has the job of preparing the team for competition. This he has blatantly failed to do. The defence has been non existant from day one.
One of the first priorities in any defence is to protect the centre of the pitch.Our centre halfs were often so far apart that they looked like complete strangers.
We know that there are problems in the middle of our team and they are the same problems that we have had for a few years. Lampard and Gerrard just are not compatible and do not work well together.
The forward line has been missing throughout the tournament. If something is not working change it. Not difficult I would thought, to work out.
Rooney does best on his own we are told. Capello insists on playing 4-4-2. Crouch and Defoe have played together for Spurs and scored a few times.
Obviously Capello does not rate Peter so why take him. Heskey no-goals superstar has a hold over the manager. If not why the hell has he been played so often.
The keeping crisis is only that in my book because the manager has allowed it to become one.
James has not let us down and gives us the same week in week out. Green is very fragile. That leaves us with Hart.
We are told that Capello rates him as our future so why the hell not play him? He will always be a player for the future if he doesn’t get a game.
Overall, though I feel the players could and should have done a lot better, my main problem is with the manager.
Almost from the beginning of the tournament we have had rumours and counter rumours that seemingly have come from within the camp of FA England.
I would love to see a new manager take over. I would like, as has been suggested elsewhere, to see a good section of this team to be told thanks and no thanks.
James – Didnt let us down but is past it.
Green – calamity has to go
Hart – has looked composed when used
………
Carragher – Why was he brought back after his worst season for Liverpool for yearts.
Terry – made far to many mistakes
Upson – caught out of place and for speed too often
King – never fit enough to be on the plane
Watson – may deserve another crack
A Cole – one of the few pluses
Johnson – gave his all and though caught out occasionally well worth keeping.
Warnock – has not really pushed a claim
…………..
Gerrard – did what he alays does when played in wrong position
Lampard – poor tournament
Barry – shouldn’t have gone
Milner – poor but may have excuse
SWP – wasn’t worthy of a place
J Cole – looked as though he was trying to hard
Carrick – not involved really
Lennon – mostly overlooked
…………….
Rooney – unfit start and never good
Heskey – proved donkeys don’t play football
Defoe – did as well as expected
crouch – never given a chance to shine
Not many pluss’s you will see in there. Ashley Cole was probably our best player overall. Rooney and Terry most disappointing.
Now we need to decide whether players such as young Andy Johnson of Man City should get a go. Will Hart become no 1 keeper? Do we keep Capello who we all thought was the bees knees or do we revert to a British manager.
I can even see Pompey and Saints fans forgiving chubbycheeks Redknapp if he did the job well. Though I would love to see Roy Hodgson of Fulham given the job. He seems to fire his troops up and get them going.
So to cap, we were robbed of a goal. That goal might well have sparked the team into performing as we, the fans, wanted. I still have my doubts but will never know.
The stories of unrest mixed with the sorry performances, of what is supposedly the best we have on offer, beggars many questions.
These questions are now being asked vociferously in several areas.
Who do we drop?
Who can replace them?
Is the system so bad in this country?
If you think we deserved to do better or feel that we got what we deserved, let us know.
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