It had to happen, didn’t it?
Sunday's clash between the two teams will be their 28th full international match together and of the previous 27 internationals, England has won 12 while Germany has only won 10. During these 27 matches Germany have scored 34 goals, but England have bagged a massive 4. Good omens then.
Not quite.
England’s stuttering start was given a breath of fresh belief after the rampage of goals against Slovenia, according to our own Jermain Defoe. The fact is we were average in that game and repulsively bad before then. And we will be coming up against the youngest German team in a World Cup since the 1930s, whilst we will be fielding the oldest team England team ever.
The two teams have met in two penalty shootouts; in 1990 and 1996 - Germany have won both.
The Germans play very similar football to the English; powerful players with accurate passes that don’t usually play the appealing football, but tend to get the job done. We usually bring the best out of each other, similar to the North London Derby. The difference being the team in white tend to prevail in this one.
Gary Lineker summed it up brilliantly in one statement:
"Soccer is a game for 22 people that run around, play the ball, and one referee who makes a slew of mistakes, and in the end Germany always wins."
Please Lord, lets not have Jamie Carragher at the back.
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label England. Show all posts
Friday, 25 June 2010
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Let them eat cake!
Fabio Capello. Run of the mill or king of the hill?
He came to these shingle-infested shores with a glistening résumé at club level and was the autocratic leader that our plucked and premed beauty queens (exception of Rooney. Maybe Crouch.) desperately needed.
As England got off to a swirling success throughout the qualifiers we truly believed he was the best thing to come out of Italy since Ragu sauce. He was like your best mate that you share banter with, buy rounds with, even drunkenly hug and spill Chili sauce on your shoes with. Until you go away on holiday with them and their characteristics become almost intolerable.
It seems the totalitarian approach that we saw as our leader’s greatest attribute has now sunken to his greatest hindrance. The players seem bored and disinterested, their concentration levels appear lower than Blackpool’s wage structure, and they even seem tired and impotent in front of goal.
The lack of freedom and leniency appears to have not only affected morale but as a result the country’s hopes and dreams of success.
The latest victory against Slovenia (whose best player’s claim to fame was a West Brom substitute appearance several seasons ago) was far encouraging. The corner flag shenanigans towards the end may seem adequate in a game against Brazil, even France, but Slovenia?! We were simply hanging on.
Although this is a learning curve for a man whose previous glory has come predominantly at club level, the weight of expectations building up to this world cup was higher than Frank Lampard’s cholesterol. England expects. Capello needs to lighten up. I say let them eat cake.
He came to these shingle-infested shores with a glistening résumé at club level and was the autocratic leader that our plucked and premed beauty queens (exception of Rooney. Maybe Crouch.) desperately needed.
As England got off to a swirling success throughout the qualifiers we truly believed he was the best thing to come out of Italy since Ragu sauce. He was like your best mate that you share banter with, buy rounds with, even drunkenly hug and spill Chili sauce on your shoes with. Until you go away on holiday with them and their characteristics become almost intolerable.
It seems the totalitarian approach that we saw as our leader’s greatest attribute has now sunken to his greatest hindrance. The players seem bored and disinterested, their concentration levels appear lower than Blackpool’s wage structure, and they even seem tired and impotent in front of goal.
The lack of freedom and leniency appears to have not only affected morale but as a result the country’s hopes and dreams of success.
The latest victory against Slovenia (whose best player’s claim to fame was a West Brom substitute appearance several seasons ago) was far encouraging. The corner flag shenanigans towards the end may seem adequate in a game against Brazil, even France, but Slovenia?! We were simply hanging on.
Although this is a learning curve for a man whose previous glory has come predominantly at club level, the weight of expectations building up to this world cup was higher than Frank Lampard’s cholesterol. England expects. Capello needs to lighten up. I say let them eat cake.
Monday, 14 June 2010
How do you confuse Emile Heskey? Give him a football
I can't believe Capello's picked Emile Heskey for the World Cup. My initial thoughts were surely he'll be too busy trying to defend his Ladies Singles title at Wimbledon?
But jokes aside: It’s been said a million times over, but I still have no clue as to why on earth Fabio Capello continues to pick Emile Heskey to start up front for England.
He scored 5 goals in this past season. 3 in the Premier League. That’s 3 goals in 31 appearances. Shocking.
I don’t care if he “brings the best out of Rooney” and “is an amazing team player”, strikers are judged on goals - especially when you are in the biggest tournament in the world. Wayne Rooney doesn’t have the most prolific scoring record for England and so in order to balance that, surely we should be looking for more of a “fox in the box” or “poacher” to bang in the goals we seem to be desperately struggling for at the moment?
The most Emile Heskey has ever scored in a single season was 14, back in 2000/2001 at Liverpool.
Peter Crouch has a formidable scoring record for England and surely with a bit of work in training could become Rooney’s “Big man up top”, after all he is the tallest English player in the team and even chipped in with 8 goals this season in the Premier League, when just under half of his appearances were as a substitute.
My personal opinion is that is as dangerous in front of goal as a one legged man in an arse-kicking contest.
Top Tip for England's next game:
If you're watching on Sky+, press "pause" and wait a second before pressing "play". Being a second or two behind the live play will give you that authentic Emile Heskey viewpoint.
But jokes aside: It’s been said a million times over, but I still have no clue as to why on earth Fabio Capello continues to pick Emile Heskey to start up front for England.
He scored 5 goals in this past season. 3 in the Premier League. That’s 3 goals in 31 appearances. Shocking.
I don’t care if he “brings the best out of Rooney” and “is an amazing team player”, strikers are judged on goals - especially when you are in the biggest tournament in the world. Wayne Rooney doesn’t have the most prolific scoring record for England and so in order to balance that, surely we should be looking for more of a “fox in the box” or “poacher” to bang in the goals we seem to be desperately struggling for at the moment?
The most Emile Heskey has ever scored in a single season was 14, back in 2000/2001 at Liverpool.
Peter Crouch has a formidable scoring record for England and surely with a bit of work in training could become Rooney’s “Big man up top”, after all he is the tallest English player in the team and even chipped in with 8 goals this season in the Premier League, when just under half of his appearances were as a substitute.
My personal opinion is that is as dangerous in front of goal as a one legged man in an arse-kicking contest.
Top Tip for England's next game:
If you're watching on Sky+, press "pause" and wait a second before pressing "play". Being a second or two behind the live play will give you that authentic Emile Heskey viewpoint.
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