well, i`ve done a review before each game, so i thought i may aswell continue to do so as maybe it`ll bring us some luck tommorow.
this is englands biggest game in 2 years and it`s PAYBACK TIME.
portugal stuffed it down englands throats when they beat them in the euro semis 2 years ago and i`ll tell you now, every england player that was there has been waiting for a chance of revenge for what they seen as a great opportunity lost to go on and beat greece in the finals.
sven got it all wrong back then and i must admit HE is the one weakest link i`m concerned about.
time and time again he has been proved to be too defensive and tactically naive.
now, in this world cup, another boy blunder sees his inability to ,
1. pick a squad consisting of players capable of performing in all positions and,
2. an amazing way of screwing up games by making the wrong substitution during the game.
in my honest opinion, he owes england and it`s fans, BIG TIME!!!
£5 million a year for him is insulting the england fan base as he has arguably only taken england forward a small step.
it was the wrong decision to appoint him, but hindsight is a wonderful thing and i don`t think many people at the time would`ve disagreed with the f.a`s decision to give a big name foriegner the job for a change.
i believe he knows that he should owe england a big game and this HAS to be it.
theres no point in being negative in this game because if they do approach it negatively, portugal will capitalise and it`ll be the same result as 2 years ago.
this is possibly the hardest line up to predict of all the games england have played so far.
there are a few doubts and imo sven SHOULD be paying a bit of attention to the portugal side because of the loss of deco.
i think ronaldo WILL play.
so, i REALLY want to see john terry go into him hard in the first 5 minutes, as theres no way he`s fully fit.
i`d personally play a 4/4/2 diamond, but i just know it`s going to be a 4/5/1 defensive shot again.
yes, it worked(arguably) last game v ecuador but portugal may also play a 4/5/1 and this is set oout to be a war of attrition.
the line up i expect is....
...............................................robinson.............................................
.......g.neville...................................................................a.cole..........
.............................r.ferdinand....................j.terry...............................
......................................................................................................
.......beckham........................gerrard...............................j.cole.............
...........................................lampard..................................................
.......................................rooney.....................................................
....................................................crouch........................................
things may alter with a few doubts over gary neville, rio ferdinand and who`ll play in the anchor.
paul robinson....he needs a big game to prove he`s the undisputed england number 1 as the last game v ecuador he was flapping all over the place. i`m actually a fan of his since he joined spurs he`s improved tenfold. he needs to dominate his box tomorrow.
gary neville....if he plays and he`s fully fit then england have just added a new dimension which hasn`t really been present at the world cup. the neville/beckhma overlapping and support down the right could be an integral part of how england get a goal with quality crosses played in for crouch or rooney/gerrard and lampard to latch on to.
ashley cole.... only had one decent game this world cup. it`s been rather disapointing from him. i was hoping hed show hes the best left back in the world but he`s been caught out by wingers skill in this world cup, but he always can rely on his pace to get back and tackle.
rio ferdinand.... i just don`t rate him at all. he may be worth 30 million to man.utd but i always am waiting for a big accident to happen with him. you`d expect for such a big guy he`d be a threat at free kicks, but it`s amazing how many headers he gets off target. he needs to stand up tommorow and LISTEN to what john terry is telling him to do.
john terry.... he`s been silently briliant in this world cup so far. yes, he was poor v ecuador but in the three group games he was england saviour and it might all have been different if he hadn`t saved englands bacon a few times. i`m hoping he shows pauleta who`s boss and proves to the world he`s the best there is in that position.
michael carrick....(if playing)... i rate this boy highly and i`m not siuprised man.utd have offered 15 million for him. aswell as being the back fours cover he has an uncanny ability of playing brilliant balls through to the strikers. i really hope he plays.
jamie carragher.....(if playing)......not jamies best postion the holding midfield but thers hardly anyone else i`d rather see on your side. will give 100% for their cause if he plays.
owen hargreaves...(if playing).... he`s actually come on a bit and showed he can play if he trys hard enough. at times he appears to be dreaming and he is just not the guyi`d want playing as a holding midfielder as he`s too often m.i.a
david beckham..... becks has arguably been englands most efficient player in this world cup. he`s scored one and created umpteen more chances. one of the few times i actually enjoy watching him play is when gary neville is there helping him as the two of them know each other inside out. needs to be a big man tomorrow and motivate that team.
stevie gerrard..... he`s one of my all time favourite players. he`s mr reliable. he`ll make it appear like theres four of him on the park. absolutely stoncking player and i wouldn`t be suprised if he scored at some point. my ideal midfielder.
frank lampard....he`s had the most shots at goal in this tourne but i actually thin he`s been very disapointing. if i had my way i`d be playing a 4/4/2 and he`d be dropped. he needs to prove to the world that he is the player we see at chelsea, and do it on the biggest stage in the world. he`s got that chance and i really dont expect him to let us down again.
joe cole.... on the left although he actually prefers playing on the right, or his best position is in the hole behind the strikers, i just hope that the two coles are solid and up for it tomorrow. if thers anything of a weakness next to ferdinand it`s the lack of physique that the two coles have meaning players can push there way past them in a flash and i fully expect ronaldo to be making a nuisance of himself on this side at most of the game here. joe`s pretty average at defending and his game is going forward. i just hope ashley cole lets him do this tomorrow.
wayne rooney.....what can you say that hasn`t already been said? he`s like a bull in a china shop the now and he`s desperate to make up for going out injured when he was the top scorer at the euros in 2004. he`s got such a quality midfield behind him and i expect gerrard, lampard, cole, carrick, beckham to use him correctly and not to be playing high balls for him to run onto to. a potential matchwinner and a massive bonus to have him playing here. gave the whole squad a lift when he came on in the group stages.
peter crouch....i used to like him when he played for saints. but he`s taken a long while to be comfartible in a world class team like liverpool and to be honest he`s the only other man england can really have playing up front because of erikssons incompetence. if england go out tomorrow witout scoring eriksson is in for the roasting of his life for not taking more strikers"i told you so" springs to mind. he does have some uses as he showed v trinidad and he`ll have to cut the nonsense out of hs head tomorrow and be thoroughly 100% professional the whole game. if he scores he can do the robocrouch though
it`s going to be a hard game tomorrow and i`m hoping upon hop that we can do this.
i`ll go for 1-1 after extra time. england to win on penalties.
good luck lads:D
