Thought I'd start a football blog, we might keep this going until 2010.....England doing well....did not see the match or even the goals....I'd like Michael owen back in the squad though....and I think Peter Crouch would make a very good substitute...remember against Argentina in Geneva a few years ago....with Michael Owen and some very good movements on and off the ball...they caused havoc.....did see Scotland's missed chance....that could be very costly losing those 2 points !.

"rf ... spot the difference :-)".. donkey would probably have stopped it -):

Of course, if any of the England strikers had scored a second goal, no one would care about the one R.G. let in! Only one goal against the USA???? Poor.

Same old England wasnt it. Ordered myself a case of Special Brew to get me through the next match on friday.

All the time the ball was coming in to the attackers in the air 40 yards out instead of from wingers beating men and from the bye line. Everything was predictable.

Gerrard for once looked an international player but faded possibly due to frustration of others around him.

Whats Wright Philliphs doing in an England shirt??

Where was Lampard? and Rooney for that matter.

The short pass into feet was badly missed.

Carrick is the one who can do this but dont think he'l get much time to prove it.

Where was Theo for the last 15 minutes?. (probably at his mums watching with a few tinnies, what a waste of speed and talent)

All the papers this morning are blaming Green, OK he committed one hell of an howler but that deflects from the poor penetration and quality all around.

Capelo seems to be losing it aswell, did you see him on the touch line.

We always start rotten so theres better to come .............hopefully.

Thanks Dil,....to me : Joe Cole must play....in games like this : you have to want the ball not get rid of it anywhere, the danger now is that the USA could win their last 2 matches.....England will need a lot of goals in these next 2 games, because you can bet that the americans will win against Algeria in the last game and if they put a lot in the net, they could pip us to the top spot and that would be a disaster for Capello's lot forced to take another route via probaby Germany, Spain or Italy...a minimum of 3-0 in the next game...minimum....

I feel and look like the top one at the moment.....perhaps Joe Hart might be the best choice.

Another goal blunder, this time by the Algerian goalkeeper.....same thing...perhaps this worldcup ball is too light....more like a beach ball, I've noticed that on freekicks it has a tendancy to fly upwards....

Fairly typical England start to a major tournament, disappointing! Whilst Green's howler probably cost the win, it didn't really disguise an overall poor performance. Lennon & Wright Phillips, two headless chickens, one on each wing, neither able to provide that killer cross / pass on more than an occasional basis; Rooney never really got into the game, but surprisingly, Heskey had an excellent game, pity he scores so few goals. I can only assume Milner was still feeling the effects of illness, he was absolutely rubbish and rightly taken off by Capello. Joe Cole seems out of the favour at the moment, but I'd rather see him be given a full game than 90 mins of SWP.

I don't know what Wright-Phillips is doing ...he goes down a wing and most of the time gets bogged down with no options open and on the rare chances at goal he misses or puts in not a powerful enough shot....would be far better to have JCole with Defoe up front with Rooney.....Heskey did have an excellent game but is that the way we are going to play....?...like in 2002 ?....using his strength to try and feed somebody else ......we need a better variation of play.....got some money on the Dutch to win tomorrow....the Germans look strong...best to avoid them by winning our group if possible, but we need a heck of a lot of goals now .....

Think we will end up with Rooney and 5 in midfield, reckon its got to happen at some stage.

Lets be honest lads we were shite! Ok bad mistake by Green, but hey a football match is won by scoring more goals than the opposition. Every credit to the USA.

Oh I wouldn't say you were that good Chris :-)

Can't understand why he persists with Heskey up front given Crouch's scoring record. Didn't know Lampard was on the pitch for the first hour and after a bright start Lennon went missing. Carragher is too slow at club level these days and he isn't the answer at the back. Think your being a bit harsh on Wright-Phillips and overall there is probably enough quality in the squad to beat anyone on the day but he needs to get the selection right.

Need a shed load Friday otherwise the door could open for the USA to claim the easy passage through the last 16 and quarter finals.

Good luck.

Dil,

Fair assessment there IMO.

Crouch is formidable, supriror to Heskey surely?

Hard luck at the play offs, yet another example of a team sneeking in at the death in scorching form, and then beating teams that finished well ahead of them on points.

Well, the dutch won....they will play better from now on....what's next ?.....oh ! it's jabban (the hutt) v cameron.......funny game that !?.....might give that a miss....

I see the keiser has put the boot into English football today...... seems to have a point though.......... but bet if we meet them in the latter stages we will kick there sorry asses off the pitch.

And please please ban those bloody vo vo zelas or whatever they are called.

Its neutralising the crowd and no nationalities are shining through.

We wont hear or see the samba girls tonight you can bet and thats a shame.

wright philips and lennon are of the same ilk. they dont know how to kick a ball properly its all the inside of the foot stuff. little wonder there is no power there. little wonder they can't cross a ball accurately. just compare to Rooney or Gerrard or Lampard and how they kick the ball.by comparison the other two are still schoolboys.we might get away with it at that level but not on this stage.
regards
jkd
edit. so, if they could kick a ball properly why dont they take the corners?

the problem folks is due to the ridiculous sky tv coverage of english football and the insular view of it by the public you get ahead of yourselves......lennon, wright phillips, heskey, green, carragher etc are all pretty average players...and that is half yer team

you have 2 or 3 world class players in rooney, lampard and gerrard...other than that it is all a bit average

having said that ...overall standard has been poor and it is actually there for the taking for someone...so if you could actually get yer act together then you would not be too far away but you could end up playing german in the second round and i cannot see you winning that

so
when are we english going to teach our kids that it dont matter how speedy or tricky we are it matters not a jot if we cant kick a football properly?
regards
jkd

Agree with you all.....I also think that playing the USA was like playing one of our own....the americans knew what to expect....and we were not on top....if we could raise our game, perhaps the performance then would take off....Gareth Barry with his excellent technique will be a welcome return....and JCole is a must in my way of thinking.....we must pass the ball with confidence... ; that was sadly lacking for most of the game....

And those blinkin' vavazelas or whatever they are....that's all you can bloody hear...ps .....I think I made a mistake : when I said France met Uruguay in 1998...it was Paraguay....sorry...

rf i dont know why everyone is so annoyed with the horns......every match i watch on the tv i have my missus sitting droning on next to me......i have learned to filter it out...same with the horns :-)