I don't think my review of the game was England bashing. For a first game I said we did ok and that I'd seen worse opening displays from an England team. My main concern was there were too many individuals on the pitch and not enough cohesion. Heskey and Rooney in attack and Gerrard and Lampard played as if it was the first time they'd played together. I agree with you about Johnson but disagree about Gerrard. Apart from the goal (great goal) I was very disappointed to see him give the ball away on many occasions once unbelievably in his own half not under any pressure. I think he let the goal get to him. One good cross second half was the only really creative bit of play and he was also the defensive player for the shot which Green spilled into the net, he was turned far too easily.
Sent from my iPhone On 13 Jun 2010, at 14:41, "hotshotlorimer" <[email protected]> wrote: Not surprised with all the England bashing here (I sometimes think the list is as much anti-England as pro-Leeds), but I think people are missing the point. The first game in any group is always going to be difficult and frankly, given the opposition (the USA will be the strongest opponent for England) the main objective is to avoid defeat. Mission accomplished. The US are physically very strong and fit, and they are disciplined and organized - that's NOT easy to break down, and although I fully agree that England did not play well, in the end I think it is an acceptable result. It's true that England will have to play better if they have ANY hope of progressing to the latter stages, but for now I wouldn't panic. I thought Heskey did really well and Gerrard is a man amongst boys. I also thought Glen Johnson did well. Rooney is the one world class player that England has, and as such he HAS to be involved more if we are to make any significant progress. On the down side obviously Green will de replaced now (I assume), Milner may completely miss out again and Terry, King and Carragher (for various reasons) look like the weak links. Ashley Cole is a poser. Lennon is interesting because he gets in some great positions and then seems to lack confidence. In the first half he should have taken a shot with the outside of his right foot (aiming for the far corner); instead he crossed meekly. The point is, England are not all that good, so I think yesterday was a pretty decent start. Thank Christ we didn't lose, my life would have been unbearable. Adrian Dingle Atlanta Whites ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Walker" <[email protected]> To: "Damian Walsh" <[email protected]>; "list leedslist" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2010 2:56 AM Subject: [LU] A few England thoughts First of all I'm a massive club before country man, even more so these days with the overpaid rubbish that turns out for England. Still I was still jumping around the room when Gerrard put us in the lead early on. There were 2 really annoying factors for me watching the game on ITV. Firstly the bloody horns. I hate them and for me they are ruining the tournament. I don't mind them so much when you're watching S Africa v Mexico because they don't know any better and that's the only way you're going to get any sort of atmosphere, but when it's England I want to hear the fans not a deafening din that just makes it sound like planes are flying over for the full 90 minutes. Is this someone's pathetic attempt to prevent trouble by just drowning any banter between rival fans ? It's pathetic. Secondly, Clive Tyldesly - is he bumming Emile Heskey ? My god, how many times did he mention how good Eskey was last night ? It was nauseating. I thought Heseky did the basics ok but how many times was he off-side and when he got his one and only chance as a striker in a one on one he did what Heskey does best and fluffed it. I also thought he didn't play well with Rooney at all - some of that first half might have been down to Shrek but as a partnership it just didn't happen. Also, Tyldesley kept reminded us that the Lampard / Gerrard combination was working effectively ? Really ? I thought Gerrard, apart from the goal, was average. He gave the ball away more times that I've seen him do all season for his club. He looked lost. Main reason for that though, I thought, was his partner Lampard who was shite. I've never been a Frank Lampard fan, never considered him good enough for England despite all his goals for his club. He had one decent effort and then there was a couple of unbelievably bad free-kicks. Why is he in the team ? As for the result and performance in general I have seen us play worse in opening games. I thought 1-0 to us would have been a fair result although 1-1 wasn't unfair. I thought the USA showed they can play and they had some decent chances. Scores: Green - 2. I used to bang on about how Nigel Martyn should be England no 1 when Seaman had made the position his for so long. When Nige did get his chance he looked like a novice, shat himself and ended up costing us the match. It demonstrated to me that going into the big competitions you need experience in this position and you just can't go in with a rookie keeper. The occasion is too big. Johnson - 8. Definitely one of the positives both defending and attacking. Cole - 6. Didn't do enough going forward but not really troubled at the back. Terry -6. Did ok. King - 6. Thought he did ok whilst on but he's obviously not fit so why we pinning or hopes on him. It seems to me that with the keeper position and the Rio injury (blessing in disguise IMO) that Capello never had a Plan B for these 2 positions. 6 million a year !!!! Lampard - 3. Poor, Gerrard - 6. Great goal. Lennon - 6. One or two good moments and one or two disapointing moments. I think he always looks like an Under-16 player taking part in a man's game. He never seems to connect cleanly with the ball as if it's too big for him. He does however have pace and can create chances but not today. Is he a luxury in that midfield ? Milner - 2. Not a winger, not a left back, not an England player. Heskey - 6. Did ok but hasn't scored since Feb. Rooney - 7. First half anonymous. Really tried second half to make things happen. Nearly worked. Subs: Wright Phillips - 3. Looked out of his depth. Crouch - 3. Oh dear. Can't remember who else came on. I think we'll win this group. ----- Original Message ---- From: Damian Walsh <[email protected]> To: list leedslist <[email protected]> Sent: Sun, 13 June, 2010 7:23:55 Subject: Re: [LU] 1-1 who's mistake cost the game - Green's "assist" or Heskey's miss? Discuss. I have to say though that over the whole match Lampard was the most disappointing England player, at least Heskey & Green made some positive contributions to the match whereas Lampard seemed (through the distorting lens of the telly) to contribute nothing. I thought that England's passing was poor - not to the level you'd expect from an international team. Damian _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist and the hardest time in a sailor's day is to watch the sun as it sails away _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist and the hardest time in a sailor's day is to watch the sun as it sails away _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist and the hardest time in a sailor's day is to watch the sun as it sails away _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist and the hardest time in a sailor's day is to watch the sun as it sails away
