[blazingvenom911]

Originally Posted by polpot

England just proved yesterday what i kinda knew. They dont have the ABILITY to play the top teams. Yes, ABILITY!!Playing Footie at the top level, you are going to get limited space, good marking, and its definately not going to be like the Premier LEague where you can run through the defences.
With all due respect, neither Gerrard nor Lampard nor young nor mannny others have the technical ability to compete with the Zidanes and Vieras. Plain inspiration and running your legs off isn't enough. Finding space is a premium and the technique should be top notch to find that.
In the present English setup, apart from Joe Cole and maybe to an extent Rooney and Hargreaves(Hargreaves only because he has trained in Germany) have the technique of international standards. Only saving grace of the english are the strong center backs. But good Forwards will find them out once in a while.

well i disagree with u regardng england!! jus think england has such gr8 defence with terry and ferdinand in the middle and brown and A cole giving power from the wings...and believe me cole and brown are such defenders who mostly act as almost midfield wingers whn u need em attackin thru wings. even wayne bridge plays awesome in wings. The midfield has big players who like 2 play awesome passing football, makin spaces and shooting feom long distances like Gerrard and Lampard...if u say joe cole doesnt has skills i disagree coz may be is not tht brazilian type who does stepovers and bicycle kicks but he knows how to skip thru defenders. the only thing is that on the right side there is no one who can get into Beckham's shoes. no one can produce those pin point crosses as beckham did. yeah walcott and wright-phillips are there but they lack experience. jus i think gareth barry and downing are not the guys who can perform at big stages. they really do need a 2nd beckham!! talkin abt fwds ya u do have rooney but can rooney alone handle??? u had crouch but i personally think that he cant do anything except score a few headers and li'l nudges to score a goal....but he cannt make space , skip defenders and score....coz he's no torres.

well i think tht after erriksson was sacked they were not able 2 gel as a team....they need another striker like Owen in his peak. and i think even Capellos style doesnt match the fast pace of english football....thts why he keeps on trying guys like barry. i know they cannt match the zidanes but makelele and vieira?? makelele is one defensive midfielder and vieira close to one and not close 2 wht he used 2 be at arsenal. well remember the 1st match betn england and france. england scored 1st and played too well to hold france. but finally france won due to Zizou as he scored thru set pieces(1 penalty and 1 free kick) they werent able 2 make spaces. but if u say ribery i'll agree coz he's an awesome one!!

[polpot]

Originally Posted by swagatsinha

The selection of Gomis and Cisse's exclusion are still acceptable if they were linked to each other. I mean, one stays, the other goes. But Flamini is inexcusable.!!

I would still agree with Flamini's exclusion. International tourneys are all about experience.

2006 world Cup: France vs Brazil. Viera shadowed Kaka like a hound. He just did not allow the superstar a 2nd touch. Imposed himself on the match. Kaka was soo scared... Literally scared.. You could see it in his eyes... It is expirience which cuts it here.... Flamini has still a long way to go. Lets not forget that he has had only 1 good season and only in the Premiership. He will make his way to the team with time

[swagatsinha]

Originally Posted by polpot

I would still agree with Flamini's exclusion. International tourneys are all about experience.

2006 world Cup: France vs Brazil. Viera shadowed Kaka like a hound. He just did not allow the superstar a 2nd touch. Imposed himself on the match. Kaka was soo scared... Literally scared.. You could see it in his eyes... It is expirience which cuts it here.... Flamini has still a long way to go. Lets not forget that he has had only 1 good season and only in the Premiership. He will make his way to the team with time

My point is, Diarra over Flamini??
You definitely don't expect Diarra to play, then why not pick someone for the benches who might put the exposure to better use? Otherwise, he shall remain a non-experienced chap till Vieira falls out of favour.

[polpot]

Originally Posted by blazingvenom911

well i think tht after erriksson was sacked they were not able 2 gel as a team....they need another striker like Owen in his peak. and i think even Capellos style doesnt match the fast pace of english football....thts why he keeps on trying guys like barry. i know they cannt match the zidanes but makelele and vieira?? makelele is one defensive midfielder and vieira close to one and not close 2 wht he used 2 be at arsenal. well remember the 1st match betn england and france. england scored 1st and played too well to hold france. but finally france won due to Zizou as he scored thru set pieces(1 penalty and 1 free kick) they werent able 2 make spaces. but if u say ribery i'll agree coz he's an awesome one!!

What i meant was TECHNIQUE. Ball control; first touch; dribble; coming between the ball and the player; intercept; HEADING ability; BALL RETENTION....


Viera is a wrong example. Just because he aint in England desnt mean he is finished. On an international level is a collosus... Makelele 2 years back was as good as it got.... Its not about step overs dear friend but International matches have tight games. World Cup 2006 had all England players at their prime. Gerrard Lampard Beckham Crouch etc... Compare the English setup to some country like Italy... The English midfield will never get the ball. You need class to have ball retention...

As far your 1st para, you described the way England play quite well... But that is a typical English wing/long ball play... If you dont get the ball or give it away too easily then what???

To prove my point just watch the England team's matches against Croatia.. .An inferior team picked them out with just greater technique and ball retention

The thing is English Club Football maikes us think these guys are the top people but they aren't. I cant think of 1 English player who can retain the ball!!!



Edit: Swagat i think that is to do with Diarra being a destroyer.. flamini is more of a ball player.. His defensive capabilities are lesser than Diarra although ehis a better player...

[blazingvenom911]

Originally Posted by polpot

What i meant was TECHNIQUE. Ball control; first touch; dribble; coming between the ball and the player; intercept; HEADING ability; BALL RETENTION....


Viera is a wrong example. Just because he aint in England desnt mean he is finished. On an international level is a collosus... Makelele 2 years back was as good as it got.... Its not about step overs dear friend but International matches have tight games. World Cup 2006 had all England players at their prime. Gerrard Lampard Beckham Crouch etc... Compare the English setup to some country like Italy... The English midfield will never get the ball. You need class to have ball retention...

As far your 1st para, you described the way England play quite well... But that is a typical English wing/long ball play... If you dont get the ball or give it away too easily then what???

To prove my point just watch the England team's matches against Croatia.. .An inferior team picked them out with just greater technique and ball retention

The thing is English Club Football maikes us think these guys are the top people but they aren't. I cant think of 1 English player who can retain the ball!!!

yeah dude even i agree its not all about step overs. the english guys dont do tht but still talkin abt ball possession they r way good. i mean if the ball is in midfield and defence they can possess it so long tht the opposition gets bugged. havent u seen ferdinand, terry and co keep on passin the ball within themselves like hell....they can get hold of opposiion's nerves like tht. see we cannt compare betn teams in premiership and national football...many teams in premiership do give ball 2 easily but those players r not in the team...say if we talk abt man u i'll say whn ball goes 2 ronaldo he gives the ball easily but think how ferdinand and brown keep on passing the ball amongst themselves.

well talkin abt vieira i dont say tht being in england is good....but his style of football is way boring. even he plays in italy he is not even near to guys like pirlo or gattuso who give such thru balls tht gives players automatic space. wht vieira tries to do is tht try 2 get hold of he midfield and haunt players but once a player gets past him...he's finished.

[polpot]

Originally Posted by blazingvenom911

well talkin abt vieira i dont say tht being in england is good....but his style of football is way boring. even he plays in italy he is not even near to guys like pirlo or gattuso who give such thru balls tht gives players automatic space. wht vieira tries to do is tht try 2 get hold of he midfield and haunt players but once a player gets past him...he's finished.

I totally disagree bout Viera.. Keep an eye on him at the Euro...

If England plays the kind of football they are capable of and the way you put it... Even still i can name 10-12 teams that can take them out...

Italy
France
Germany
Spain
Argentina
Brazil
Netherlands(maybe)
Portugal
Greece
Czechs
India

[rockball]

Glanced thru a few posts and here are my views.

Thanx polpot, good point on England. I hate it when people criticise Erikkson or Mclaren. Well not Mclaren but Erikkson did great things with England. He overachieved with those players. Most people rate England highly just because the league is doing well now and there is always the media hype behind them rating Rooney as best striker and every other of their players as the best in those positions. Capello would have to do miracles with them if they have to win something. English players have always been trying to play a technical one touch game, which they are very poor at.
Enough about them since they are not playing this tournament

Domenech has got to be the biggest jacka**. His blind hatred for Italy is gonna ruin French hopes. Dropping a class defender like Mexes in favour of Boumsong :new_shocked:
Not taking Trezeguet, Flamini!!
He should have taken Clichy also. Although Evra and Abidal are good, I feel Clichy would be a better choice. Picking Diarra over Flamini is weird again.

[swagatsinha]

I was going through the squads for some analysis, and noticed this. There is no Timo Hildebrand in the Germany squad!! What could be the possible reason? Is he injured? Coz otherwise I see no reason to leave him out.
Will post SWOT analysis of the teams soon.

[Jok3r]

Originally Posted by swagatsinha

I was going through the squads for some analysis, and noticed this. There is no Timo Hildebrand in the Germany squad!! What could be the possible reason? Is he injured? Coz otherwise I see no reason to leave him out.
Will post SWOT analysis of the teams soon.

well, dnt know why he was left out....but lehmann's in his place...despite hardly featuring for arsenal this season...

& expectedly...he has already opened up to the media;-)

ESPNsoccernet - Lehmann critical of Euro 2008 match ball

his sharpness might affect germany's chances if he makes a blunder in a major game....& somehow hes never seemed the kind to accept responsibility...perhaps germany would have been better off having someone other than him...

[polpot]

Originally Posted by swagatsinha

I was going through the squads for some analysis, and noticed this. There is no Timo Hildebrand in the Germany squad!!

Timo Hilderbrand looks like an EDGE HEAD: lol: