So onto the second saga that has took place this summer at Coventry. Kieren Westwood, widely regarded as the best goalkeeper outside the Premiership and one of the most important players at the club, has recently refused to sign a new contract. His existing deal is up at the end of the current season, and despite alleged efforts from both sides, it now appears that we will lose one of our most sellable assets at a fraction of what he is worth.
Now this has been going on since Aidy Boothroyd became City manager back in early June, with Boothroyd stating that number one priority once he returned from his holidays would be to tie the Irish international - five caps now for his national team - down into a lucrative, long term contract. Then, as pre season became shorter and shorter, us fans were promised that talks were ongoing, with the extension imminent.
We are now 7 games into the new season, and as previously stated Westwood has announced he will not sign a new deal, so it now looks like a cut price move in the January window or risk losing him for nothing at the end of the season. The rejection of an alleged £3m offer from Celtic now doesn’t look so much of a good move.
During a recent international game, Westwood broke his silence, stating that a deal had only been on the table for 4 weeks. A deal that he said he wouldn’t be signing. He also went on to say that 6 months ago he would have signed, 12 months ago he asked for a new contract and 12 months before that he actually asked for a new contract. Now if everything that he said is true, you can understand why he is frustrated, trying to get a deal for 2 years, then one being offered only a week or two before the start of the season in which his current one would run out.
So if this is true, you have to ask yourself, why have the club been saying all summer that a deal is being discussed and that they hope he would agree to it? To please the fans maybe. But why would they leave it so late to tie down the best player in his position in the Championship, especially as he asked for a new deal the previous summer? Or maybe Westwood is bending the truth, not to make himself out to be another greedy player after a move to a bigger club. Either way the club have not publicly responded to Westwood’s comments and duly dropped him for the next game, a 3-1 defeat away to Millwall, before returning for the following game against Leicester. At the full time whistle of that game against Leicester, Westwood made his way to the fans behind his second half goal and had words with a fan in the front row. What was said only those two know, but both clearly had a point to get across.
Now, us fans just have to wait, more than likely until January when Westwood will be expected to move for a cut price fee. Both parties agreed to draw a line under recent incidents and concentrate on what is important, Coventry City’s season. For now, all we can do is believe exactly that, and hope above all, that it doesn’t affect on field results, because what actually happened during the pre season saga, is anybodies guess.
22 Sept 2010
16 Sept 2010
Soap Opera Pt 1
Listen to most people in and around Coventry City Football Club, and they will tell you that Ray Ranson is a good chairman, with the clubs best interests at heart. I don’t disagree with that, but I do ask what on earth is going on at the minute regarding two important players for Coventry.
First of all is the potential signing of Marlon King. The deal was all set to be wrapped up on Friday 11 September, but for whatever reason, there was no signatures on the dotted line. Then, in a national newspaper over the weekend, King’s agent was quoted as saying “A deal has been agreed, all that’s left now is to sign.” So what was the hold up? Anyone who supports Coventry, or indeed lives in Coventry, can tell you quite confidently that manager Aidy Boothroyd desperately wants to sign the striker that he worked with at Watford back in 2006. Boothroyd has made no secret in his desire to get his man, not least because of the current injury problems his squad is facing. So King wants to sign, the manager wants him but why still no deal? One of the club directors is rumored to be against the deal, holding the whole thing up. One can only imagine that the anonymous opposer isn’t a fan of King’s controversial past.
A good goal scorer that he is - 121 career goals in 383 appearances equates to a goal just over every three games - it has always been his private life that takes the limelight. A total of 14 convictions consisting of driving bans, theft and assault has earned him 2 separate prison sentences. The most recent, well publicised incident involving a young woman whilst on a night out in the Soho area of London earned him an 18 month sentence. A sentence that he has only just finished, travelling to Coventry to train under Boothroyd almost immediately after his release. Other incidents involve several fall outs with managers and an alleged head butting, involving team mate Dean Windass.
The deal was set to be signed (again) today - Thursday 16 September - before an announcement around midday stating that it would now be signed on the Friday. The fact that Boothroyd is “praying for a deal to be struck before the weekend” suggests that there is something or someone that is currently holding up the deal. Me, I think he could do a good job for us. He could be exactly what we are missing, someone who can stick the ball in the net. But we need to get it sorted sooner rather than later. Either sign him up, or let him go.
First of all is the potential signing of Marlon King. The deal was all set to be wrapped up on Friday 11 September, but for whatever reason, there was no signatures on the dotted line. Then, in a national newspaper over the weekend, King’s agent was quoted as saying “A deal has been agreed, all that’s left now is to sign.” So what was the hold up? Anyone who supports Coventry, or indeed lives in Coventry, can tell you quite confidently that manager Aidy Boothroyd desperately wants to sign the striker that he worked with at Watford back in 2006. Boothroyd has made no secret in his desire to get his man, not least because of the current injury problems his squad is facing. So King wants to sign, the manager wants him but why still no deal? One of the club directors is rumored to be against the deal, holding the whole thing up. One can only imagine that the anonymous opposer isn’t a fan of King’s controversial past.
A good goal scorer that he is - 121 career goals in 383 appearances equates to a goal just over every three games - it has always been his private life that takes the limelight. A total of 14 convictions consisting of driving bans, theft and assault has earned him 2 separate prison sentences. The most recent, well publicised incident involving a young woman whilst on a night out in the Soho area of London earned him an 18 month sentence. A sentence that he has only just finished, travelling to Coventry to train under Boothroyd almost immediately after his release. Other incidents involve several fall outs with managers and an alleged head butting, involving team mate Dean Windass.
The deal was set to be signed (again) today - Thursday 16 September - before an announcement around midday stating that it would now be signed on the Friday. The fact that Boothroyd is “praying for a deal to be struck before the weekend” suggests that there is something or someone that is currently holding up the deal. Me, I think he could do a good job for us. He could be exactly what we are missing, someone who can stick the ball in the net. But we need to get it sorted sooner rather than later. Either sign him up, or let him go.
26 Jun 2010
England V Slovenia
It always seems to be the hard way when it comes to England. After two unconvincing draws, they finally produced a performance of some quality to ensure qualification from Group C.
It was a much better performance by England as they controlled the ball a lot better than they had in their previous two games. With Jermaine Defoe and Wayne Rooney starting upfront, there was no big man to pump the ball up to. This meant a much more shorter, patient passing game could be played, one in which I thought we executed rather well.
Apart from a few lapses in concentration, I thought we defended well, something that comes as a nice change from what we have come to expect from England of recent times. When the ball reached our penalty area, the amount of players that were throwing themselves at the feet of the Slovenians was encouraging. Defending in numbers and as a unit. In particular I thought John Terry had a very good game. After a poor pass across the backline early on in, he recovered well to deny the Slovenians a number of times. One memorable moment was - after blocking the first shot - when Terry threw himself head first, just a foot off the ground to attempt to block a shot from Valter Birsa. He didn’t manage to stop the shot as Glen Johnson was behind to deflect the ball away, but the philosophy of “they will not score” was one to be admired from Terry throughout the game. He also had a couple of chances at the other end from corners. His first attempt was a header on the near post which was off target, but in the second half, he very nearly made it 2-0 as the Slovenia goalkeeper just managed to get a strong hand to a header he had on the far post. His partner, Mathew Upson, I thought was a little off the pace. One moment in the first half in which he almost gave up on chasing Zlatan Ljubijankic was a little worrying. Thankfully Terry was there to save the day with an excellent sliding tackle to stop the incoming shot. It has to be said though, that had it not been for a reaction tackle from Upson late in the second half, it could so easily have been 1-1 and a different story altogether for the England contingent.
Going forward, although we were against a relatively weak side, we were rather impressive, creating a number of goal scoring chances. A superb link up between Steven Garrard and Wayne Rooney produced an excellent save from Samir Handanovic down to his left. The two just seemed to know what each other was thinking, and the ball played through two defenders by Rooney, set Gerrard up brilliantly as he tried to place it into the bottom corner. With many fans and pundits calling for a front line consisting of these two, this particular bit of play would only have fuelled the fire had Rooney’s strike partner Jermaine Defoe not had such a good game. Two different players I know, but compared to Emile Heskey, Jermaine Defoe knows where the goal is and has that knack of getting into the positions that bring about goal scoring opportunities. He could have easily scored a hat trick against Slovenia as his goal was followed up by a powerful shot that - luckily for Handanovic - was straight at the ‘keeper. Then, in the second half, a header into the box from Frank Lampard found Defoe all alone but the bouncing ball proved tricky for the little man as his stab at the ball just found itself wide. Not too long after, he thought he had made it 2-0 as he comfortably placed into an open net from Rooney’s cross, only to see the goal disallowed for offside for the initial pass to Rooney. As for Rooney, he had a much better game compared to his two previous performances against the USA and Algeria, creating chances for both his team mates and himself. Only another instinctive save from Handanovic prevented him from getting on the score sheet as he was left all alone in the penalty area. The scuffed shot was superbly tipped onto the post by the ‘keeper. He looked a lot fitter, a lot sharper, and more importantly determined, although it was a selfish decision to go himself in the first half when a ball to the completely open James Milner looked a better option. Talking of Milner, he was another who had an excellent game. After his poor 30 minute display against the USA, I questioned his inclusion in the starting line-up for the final game. However, after a shaky first 10 minutes, he looked the impressive fired up player he has done all season for Aston Villa, producing the cross for the only goal of the game. That was the first good cross I have seen an Englishman produce this summer, and it was followed up by another three or four, inviting the strikers to get into the position to score a goal and the sort of cross that the defence hates.
After all the allegations recently of unrest in the England camp, it was nice to see all the players in a huddle at the end of the game, showing unity and team spirit. Fabio Capello said at the end of the game that he has refound the team that he knows and the form that he see’s from these very players week in, week out in the Premier League. One good performance doesn’t mean we are going to go on to win the tournament, but we looked good in that game and with the confidence the players now feel, I wouldn’t fancy playing against them.
Bring on the Germans!
It was a much better performance by England as they controlled the ball a lot better than they had in their previous two games. With Jermaine Defoe and Wayne Rooney starting upfront, there was no big man to pump the ball up to. This meant a much more shorter, patient passing game could be played, one in which I thought we executed rather well.
Apart from a few lapses in concentration, I thought we defended well, something that comes as a nice change from what we have come to expect from England of recent times. When the ball reached our penalty area, the amount of players that were throwing themselves at the feet of the Slovenians was encouraging. Defending in numbers and as a unit. In particular I thought John Terry had a very good game. After a poor pass across the backline early on in, he recovered well to deny the Slovenians a number of times. One memorable moment was - after blocking the first shot - when Terry threw himself head first, just a foot off the ground to attempt to block a shot from Valter Birsa. He didn’t manage to stop the shot as Glen Johnson was behind to deflect the ball away, but the philosophy of “they will not score” was one to be admired from Terry throughout the game. He also had a couple of chances at the other end from corners. His first attempt was a header on the near post which was off target, but in the second half, he very nearly made it 2-0 as the Slovenia goalkeeper just managed to get a strong hand to a header he had on the far post. His partner, Mathew Upson, I thought was a little off the pace. One moment in the first half in which he almost gave up on chasing Zlatan Ljubijankic was a little worrying. Thankfully Terry was there to save the day with an excellent sliding tackle to stop the incoming shot. It has to be said though, that had it not been for a reaction tackle from Upson late in the second half, it could so easily have been 1-1 and a different story altogether for the England contingent.
Going forward, although we were against a relatively weak side, we were rather impressive, creating a number of goal scoring chances. A superb link up between Steven Garrard and Wayne Rooney produced an excellent save from Samir Handanovic down to his left. The two just seemed to know what each other was thinking, and the ball played through two defenders by Rooney, set Gerrard up brilliantly as he tried to place it into the bottom corner. With many fans and pundits calling for a front line consisting of these two, this particular bit of play would only have fuelled the fire had Rooney’s strike partner Jermaine Defoe not had such a good game. Two different players I know, but compared to Emile Heskey, Jermaine Defoe knows where the goal is and has that knack of getting into the positions that bring about goal scoring opportunities. He could have easily scored a hat trick against Slovenia as his goal was followed up by a powerful shot that - luckily for Handanovic - was straight at the ‘keeper. Then, in the second half, a header into the box from Frank Lampard found Defoe all alone but the bouncing ball proved tricky for the little man as his stab at the ball just found itself wide. Not too long after, he thought he had made it 2-0 as he comfortably placed into an open net from Rooney’s cross, only to see the goal disallowed for offside for the initial pass to Rooney. As for Rooney, he had a much better game compared to his two previous performances against the USA and Algeria, creating chances for both his team mates and himself. Only another instinctive save from Handanovic prevented him from getting on the score sheet as he was left all alone in the penalty area. The scuffed shot was superbly tipped onto the post by the ‘keeper. He looked a lot fitter, a lot sharper, and more importantly determined, although it was a selfish decision to go himself in the first half when a ball to the completely open James Milner looked a better option. Talking of Milner, he was another who had an excellent game. After his poor 30 minute display against the USA, I questioned his inclusion in the starting line-up for the final game. However, after a shaky first 10 minutes, he looked the impressive fired up player he has done all season for Aston Villa, producing the cross for the only goal of the game. That was the first good cross I have seen an Englishman produce this summer, and it was followed up by another three or four, inviting the strikers to get into the position to score a goal and the sort of cross that the defence hates.
After all the allegations recently of unrest in the England camp, it was nice to see all the players in a huddle at the end of the game, showing unity and team spirit. Fabio Capello said at the end of the game that he has refound the team that he knows and the form that he see’s from these very players week in, week out in the Premier League. One good performance doesn’t mean we are going to go on to win the tournament, but we looked good in that game and with the confidence the players now feel, I wouldn’t fancy playing against them.
Bring on the Germans!
21 Jun 2010
Wrong About Rooney!
A good journalist always admits when they’re wrong. Okay I’m not that good, and I’m not a journalist either but I just thought I should mention that I was wrong when I mentioned, in an earlier post, that Wayne Rooney is the man for the England captaincy.
Just days after writing the piece, Rooney returned to performing his old tricks. In a friendly against Platinum Stars just before the World Cup, he was flying in to tackles, clashing with opposing players and arguing with officials, gaining a yellow card in the process.
His biggest mistake came at the end of the Algeria game when, as fans booed the team off the pitch, he said down the lens of a television camera “"Nice to see your home fans boo you, that's loyal supporters." Now as an England fan myself, I find his comments almost insulting. The amount of money a travelling England fan spends, and the things he has to go through to watch his country play, are something Rooney will never understand. It’s fine earning £100,000 per week, and travelling to South Africa on a private jet, but when you look at the fans, it’s a completely different story. These people spend close to - some even over - their respective monthly wage. Bearing in mind my trip to just the USA game cost me just over £1,000, some travel agents were offering a tournament long trip for £10,500 not including tickets. If someone spends this much to travel half way around the world to watch their country play a game of football, I feel they have a right to express their disappointment at such a dismal performance.
Rooney has since apologised, although my thoughts are that this came more from Rooney’s PA and the Football Association rather than from Rooney’s own mouth. Either way I can respect that he made the apology however sincere it was. One thing is for sure though, Wayne Rooney is a big part of the England team, and any success we see this summer and beyond, you can bet the Manchester United striker will have something to do with it.
As disappointed as I am with the comments, I am still fully behind him and the team. Come on Rooney, and come on England!
Just days after writing the piece, Rooney returned to performing his old tricks. In a friendly against Platinum Stars just before the World Cup, he was flying in to tackles, clashing with opposing players and arguing with officials, gaining a yellow card in the process.
His biggest mistake came at the end of the Algeria game when, as fans booed the team off the pitch, he said down the lens of a television camera “"Nice to see your home fans boo you, that's loyal supporters." Now as an England fan myself, I find his comments almost insulting. The amount of money a travelling England fan spends, and the things he has to go through to watch his country play, are something Rooney will never understand. It’s fine earning £100,000 per week, and travelling to South Africa on a private jet, but when you look at the fans, it’s a completely different story. These people spend close to - some even over - their respective monthly wage. Bearing in mind my trip to just the USA game cost me just over £1,000, some travel agents were offering a tournament long trip for £10,500 not including tickets. If someone spends this much to travel half way around the world to watch their country play a game of football, I feel they have a right to express their disappointment at such a dismal performance.
Rooney has since apologised, although my thoughts are that this came more from Rooney’s PA and the Football Association rather than from Rooney’s own mouth. Either way I can respect that he made the apology however sincere it was. One thing is for sure though, Wayne Rooney is a big part of the England team, and any success we see this summer and beyond, you can bet the Manchester United striker will have something to do with it.
As disappointed as I am with the comments, I am still fully behind him and the team. Come on Rooney, and come on England!
England V Algeria
I thought I should hang back on the report of the England Algeria game for a few days for the fear of it turning into a complete slagging off of the team and their performance. Three days later and I still feel the same way, so here we go I suppose.
It really was an awful performance from the England team as not one player really played well. I never expected a big win for England, but I did expect a comfortable victory. Instead, what we saw was a lacklustre performance against a side that we really should have beat. Algeria only managed to qualify for the World Cup - for the first time in 24 years - after a sudden death playoff against Egypt. Both sides finished their qualifying group with identical records, so a match on neutral territory was needed to decide the qualifying team, with Algeria winning 1-0.
Defensive alarm bells rang early on when David James unconvincingly punched a cross whilst under pressure, with Glen Johnson also failing to clear as the ball fell luckily to John Terry. James did recover from the incident to have a good, solid game in goal without having too much to do. Johnson however failed to recover. On a number of occasions he was turned by the excellent Karim Ziani, and looked off the pace defensively for much of the game. The fact that Ziani got man of the match shows how dominant he was over the fullback. Once again it took too long to close down the player on the ball as Algeria were able to fire off a few shots from range with relative ease. A better team on another day would have punished us for the lack of pressing. As ever recently with England, the second half was a different story, not allowing Algeria many chances at all, although Terry did provide a worry after he put James under unnecessary pressure following a poor back pass.
Going forward, we rarely created anything, with the long ball game being once again enforced. Whenever Heskey or Crouch are in the team, it always seems to attract the hoof up field. In the days leading up to the game, Capello admitted that the Jabulani ball - the ball used at this World Cup - behaves unpredictably in the air, so why do we end up playing the ball high towards our front men. Surely the best way to utilise this ball would be to play a short passing game, to keep possession and to minimise the unpredictability of the ball. So a number of times the ball was played high up to Heskey, and whether it was the ball behaving as described or just a poor pass, it often flew well over his head. As for crosses, I saw two decent balls into the box all game, both by Aaron Lennon. One resulted in a scuffed shot by Frank Lampard, while the other was just flicked away from Wayne Rooney’s head. Corners were awful, rarely beating the first man. It was disappointing to see players such as Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard become anonymous for large periods of the game, neither putting in the sort of performance they generally do for their respective clubs. As for Rooney, it appeared to me that something was bothering him. Whether it be an injury that he may be carrying, or the system or position he is being used in is not one that he agrees with, his attitude looked completely off.
It really was an awful performance, you would expect better from world class players who ply their trade in one of the greatest leagues in the world, and the travelling fans let them know what they thought of the game. Next up is a must win game against Slovenia in Port Elizabeth, let’s hope we get the result needed and progress onto the next round.
It really was an awful performance from the England team as not one player really played well. I never expected a big win for England, but I did expect a comfortable victory. Instead, what we saw was a lacklustre performance against a side that we really should have beat. Algeria only managed to qualify for the World Cup - for the first time in 24 years - after a sudden death playoff against Egypt. Both sides finished their qualifying group with identical records, so a match on neutral territory was needed to decide the qualifying team, with Algeria winning 1-0.
Defensive alarm bells rang early on when David James unconvincingly punched a cross whilst under pressure, with Glen Johnson also failing to clear as the ball fell luckily to John Terry. James did recover from the incident to have a good, solid game in goal without having too much to do. Johnson however failed to recover. On a number of occasions he was turned by the excellent Karim Ziani, and looked off the pace defensively for much of the game. The fact that Ziani got man of the match shows how dominant he was over the fullback. Once again it took too long to close down the player on the ball as Algeria were able to fire off a few shots from range with relative ease. A better team on another day would have punished us for the lack of pressing. As ever recently with England, the second half was a different story, not allowing Algeria many chances at all, although Terry did provide a worry after he put James under unnecessary pressure following a poor back pass.
Going forward, we rarely created anything, with the long ball game being once again enforced. Whenever Heskey or Crouch are in the team, it always seems to attract the hoof up field. In the days leading up to the game, Capello admitted that the Jabulani ball - the ball used at this World Cup - behaves unpredictably in the air, so why do we end up playing the ball high towards our front men. Surely the best way to utilise this ball would be to play a short passing game, to keep possession and to minimise the unpredictability of the ball. So a number of times the ball was played high up to Heskey, and whether it was the ball behaving as described or just a poor pass, it often flew well over his head. As for crosses, I saw two decent balls into the box all game, both by Aaron Lennon. One resulted in a scuffed shot by Frank Lampard, while the other was just flicked away from Wayne Rooney’s head. Corners were awful, rarely beating the first man. It was disappointing to see players such as Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard become anonymous for large periods of the game, neither putting in the sort of performance they generally do for their respective clubs. As for Rooney, it appeared to me that something was bothering him. Whether it be an injury that he may be carrying, or the system or position he is being used in is not one that he agrees with, his attitude looked completely off.
It really was an awful performance, you would expect better from world class players who ply their trade in one of the greatest leagues in the world, and the travelling fans let them know what they thought of the game. Next up is a must win game against Slovenia in Port Elizabeth, let’s hope we get the result needed and progress onto the next round.
16 Jun 2010
England V USA - The Game
The 1-1 draw against USA is hardly the end of the world as some people have been making out. It does however, put pressure on the side to perform and get the right results in their remaining two games, especially after Slovenia picked up a win against Algeria. Anything other than a win in those games now, and we could be struggling to even make the second round.
When I saw the starting lineup, I was surprised to see James Milner in there, especially seen as he had been reported as being ill in the days leading up to the match. I expected - and hoped - that Joe Cole would get the nod instead. In goal, Robert Green would not have been my choice either, I just don’t think that he is an international class goalkeeper, but if David James was unfit, then I can understand why Capello selected him ahead of the inexperienced Joe Hart. Other than that, it was a lineup that I very much expected, and one that I though was right to play against the Americans. Capello gained a bit of criticism for selecting Emile Heskey, although as I had previously said, I thought that he was the right man to go up against the USA’s big defenders. Oguchi Onyewu is a big strong defender and I felt that had Rooney had been up top on his own, or even with Crouch then he would have dominated. Putting Heskey up top to almost deal with the defender would at least free up Rooney to do what he does best in and around the US backline.
We started brightly, with Heskey laying off beautifully for Steven Gerrard to slot past Tim Howard in goal. After going one up though, we never really controlled the ball and kept possession for large periods of time which we should have done. Instead playing silly passes that were easily intercepted. James Milner looked off the pace from the start and was booked for a reckless challenge on Steve Cherundolo, his third foul on the full back after just 26 minutes. He was substituted shortly after and replaced with Shaun Wright-Phillips. I was disappointed with the replacement, I felt that Joe Cole would have been a better choice on the left wing, a position that he has played - and well - many times before for England. Whenever Wright-Phillips got the ball down the left, he had to cut in onto his right foot before delivering into the box and I thought that he and Ashley Cole both had poor games. He did have one great chance to score, but where a left footer would have placed the ball into the far corner, Wright-Phillips used his right, merely passing the ball to the goalkeeper.
Going forward we did look dangerous, with Glen Johnson bursting forward whenever possible to support the explosive Aaron Lennon. Lennon again showed what a dangerous weapon his pace can be, often getting around the fullback and to the byline. As is too often with England though, the final ball was lacking. In the centre of the pitch, I felt that Frank Lampard was anonymous for large periods of the game, not showing the form that he does for Chelsea. His partner in the centre Steven Gerrard had a good game, looking as fired up as he has been in an England shirt for a long while. His opening goal was followed up by some excellent defensive work, although he could have done better in stopping Clint Dempsey getting his shot off in what resulted in the equaliser. Emile Heskey is another player that I felt had a good game, holding the ball up well before laying it off with accuracy. The one reason a striker is on the pitch though, is to score goals. When he was played clean through by an excellent through ball by Lennon, I was never confident of him scoring and although he struck the ball cleanly, it was straight at Tim Howard.
Defensive frailties once again shone through, as we never looked confident when dealing with high balls into the box and rarely getting close enough to the USA players when winding up for a shot or spraying the ball out wide. This was epitomised when Landon Donovan shot inches wide from long range and that weak shot by Clint Dempsey that somehow found it’s way into the back of the net. Robert Green went for the ball with his hands but didn’t put enough of his body behind the ball, as it slipped off his gloves and rolled into the net. A massive mistake by Green in a massive match. Jamie Carragher - Ledley King’s replacement at half time - showed his lack of pace and physical strength on this stage now as he was turned with ease by Jozy Altidore before Green saved the day with an excellent save at his near post. With Ledley King possibly now out for the rest of the tournament, it is worrying to think that our next best defender was turned so easily, and now also on a yellow card after making sure Altidore’s strike partner Robbie Findley couldn’t perform the same move on him.
All in all I think England played quite well, and a 1-1 draw against a side that made it to the Confederations Cup Final last year is not a bad result. The pressure is now on though, as the next two games really must be won.
When I saw the starting lineup, I was surprised to see James Milner in there, especially seen as he had been reported as being ill in the days leading up to the match. I expected - and hoped - that Joe Cole would get the nod instead. In goal, Robert Green would not have been my choice either, I just don’t think that he is an international class goalkeeper, but if David James was unfit, then I can understand why Capello selected him ahead of the inexperienced Joe Hart. Other than that, it was a lineup that I very much expected, and one that I though was right to play against the Americans. Capello gained a bit of criticism for selecting Emile Heskey, although as I had previously said, I thought that he was the right man to go up against the USA’s big defenders. Oguchi Onyewu is a big strong defender and I felt that had Rooney had been up top on his own, or even with Crouch then he would have dominated. Putting Heskey up top to almost deal with the defender would at least free up Rooney to do what he does best in and around the US backline.
We started brightly, with Heskey laying off beautifully for Steven Gerrard to slot past Tim Howard in goal. After going one up though, we never really controlled the ball and kept possession for large periods of time which we should have done. Instead playing silly passes that were easily intercepted. James Milner looked off the pace from the start and was booked for a reckless challenge on Steve Cherundolo, his third foul on the full back after just 26 minutes. He was substituted shortly after and replaced with Shaun Wright-Phillips. I was disappointed with the replacement, I felt that Joe Cole would have been a better choice on the left wing, a position that he has played - and well - many times before for England. Whenever Wright-Phillips got the ball down the left, he had to cut in onto his right foot before delivering into the box and I thought that he and Ashley Cole both had poor games. He did have one great chance to score, but where a left footer would have placed the ball into the far corner, Wright-Phillips used his right, merely passing the ball to the goalkeeper.
Going forward we did look dangerous, with Glen Johnson bursting forward whenever possible to support the explosive Aaron Lennon. Lennon again showed what a dangerous weapon his pace can be, often getting around the fullback and to the byline. As is too often with England though, the final ball was lacking. In the centre of the pitch, I felt that Frank Lampard was anonymous for large periods of the game, not showing the form that he does for Chelsea. His partner in the centre Steven Gerrard had a good game, looking as fired up as he has been in an England shirt for a long while. His opening goal was followed up by some excellent defensive work, although he could have done better in stopping Clint Dempsey getting his shot off in what resulted in the equaliser. Emile Heskey is another player that I felt had a good game, holding the ball up well before laying it off with accuracy. The one reason a striker is on the pitch though, is to score goals. When he was played clean through by an excellent through ball by Lennon, I was never confident of him scoring and although he struck the ball cleanly, it was straight at Tim Howard.
Defensive frailties once again shone through, as we never looked confident when dealing with high balls into the box and rarely getting close enough to the USA players when winding up for a shot or spraying the ball out wide. This was epitomised when Landon Donovan shot inches wide from long range and that weak shot by Clint Dempsey that somehow found it’s way into the back of the net. Robert Green went for the ball with his hands but didn’t put enough of his body behind the ball, as it slipped off his gloves and rolled into the net. A massive mistake by Green in a massive match. Jamie Carragher - Ledley King’s replacement at half time - showed his lack of pace and physical strength on this stage now as he was turned with ease by Jozy Altidore before Green saved the day with an excellent save at his near post. With Ledley King possibly now out for the rest of the tournament, it is worrying to think that our next best defender was turned so easily, and now also on a yellow card after making sure Altidore’s strike partner Robbie Findley couldn’t perform the same move on him.
All in all I think England played quite well, and a 1-1 draw against a side that made it to the Confederations Cup Final last year is not a bad result. The pressure is now on though, as the next two games really must be won.
England V USA - The Trip
I have recently returned to England after a relatively long trip to South Africa to see England play USA at this summers World Cup. It was yet another great away trip where the football put a slight downer on things, although I thought we played rather well. More on the game later.
Travelling with my Dad, we met up with the other 6 lads in the Heathrow bar, just in time for the opening game of the tournament. Not much of the game was seen however as we all began to get to know each other before our 2 hour flight to Madrid. Once in Madrid, we browsed the airport for a TV to watch the late game, France V Uruguay. With everywhere seemingly closed and no TV in the only café that was serving beer, we resorted to streaming the game over the internet using the internet café. Eight men crowded around a small monitor, it’s amazing what a fan will do to watch a football game. After the game we were kicked out of the café for drinking alcohol, so we returned to the bar before our long haul flight to Johannesburg.
Whilst in Madrid we met someone from Nottingham who was travelling to South Africa alone. He explained that he had bought a tent, and that his plan was to pitch it in Rustenburg for a few nights before moving on to Cape Town. We saw him again in Johannesburg at the baggage carousel. At the point of which we left the airport, his tent hadn’t arrived and he had missed his 11:30 coach to Rustenburg, not a good way to begin your trip. I took his email address so will contact him in the next few days to see how his trip went, and to see if he ever got his tent back.
Once we dumped the bags in the hotel, we set off for Rustenburg, stopping a few miles away from the stadium in a retail park. Standing outside a Nando’s, we bought a few crates of the local beer from an off license. Working out at 40p per bottle, it was a cheap build up to the game, and a good laugh as well. We weren’t too far away from the stadium, but with just one road to and from the ground, it still took us over an hour to get there. Upon reaching the turnstile, one of the blokes we were with realised he had lost his ticket. He managed to buy one outside the ground for just £20, less than the face value of his original ticket. That is unheard of at a major tournament, where most of the time you would expect to pay three or four times face value for an England game.
I was very disappointed after the game, as the England players stood in the centre circle and aimed a clap at each end of the ground. Us fans had travelled half way around the world to see them play, and had filled half of the ground as we always do when travelling away to major tournaments, so I thought they at least owed us enough to come down towards our stand and cheer us properly. In comparison, the entire US squad went over to their fans and saluted them for their support.
After the game, our South African chauffeur picked us up from the ground and took us back to our hotels in Pretoria. An absolute joke of a journey that took us until gone 2:30 to get back, a four hour journey that should have taken us around an hour and a half. A scary site welcomed us when we got off the bus, the hotel security guard was roaming the car park in a bomber jacket and balaclava, although he did greet us and wish us a good night.
The next day Ghana and Serbia were playing in Pretoria, so all the lads decided to get a ticket to the game. Me and Dad decided against going, especially seen as if we had got a ticket, we wouldn’t be sitting with any of the people we were travelling with. Instead we spent the day in the Eastwoods Tavern, a bar recommended to us by our South African driver that happened to be right down the street from where the Serbia game was being played. A little more expensive than the 40p a bottle the previous day, a pint was 350 ZAR (around £3.50). Two of the lads with us on the trip decided to stay until late into the first half and the four of us had a great laugh in the sunshine as we downed the beers, watching the game on the massive screen out the back of the bar.
We were then picked up after the game and taken to the airport where we began our long journey home. As I said, a great trip, although it is amazing when you think of what we all went through just to see our beloved country play a game of football on the greatest stage in the world.
Travelling with my Dad, we met up with the other 6 lads in the Heathrow bar, just in time for the opening game of the tournament. Not much of the game was seen however as we all began to get to know each other before our 2 hour flight to Madrid. Once in Madrid, we browsed the airport for a TV to watch the late game, France V Uruguay. With everywhere seemingly closed and no TV in the only café that was serving beer, we resorted to streaming the game over the internet using the internet café. Eight men crowded around a small monitor, it’s amazing what a fan will do to watch a football game. After the game we were kicked out of the café for drinking alcohol, so we returned to the bar before our long haul flight to Johannesburg.
Whilst in Madrid we met someone from Nottingham who was travelling to South Africa alone. He explained that he had bought a tent, and that his plan was to pitch it in Rustenburg for a few nights before moving on to Cape Town. We saw him again in Johannesburg at the baggage carousel. At the point of which we left the airport, his tent hadn’t arrived and he had missed his 11:30 coach to Rustenburg, not a good way to begin your trip. I took his email address so will contact him in the next few days to see how his trip went, and to see if he ever got his tent back.
Once we dumped the bags in the hotel, we set off for Rustenburg, stopping a few miles away from the stadium in a retail park. Standing outside a Nando’s, we bought a few crates of the local beer from an off license. Working out at 40p per bottle, it was a cheap build up to the game, and a good laugh as well. We weren’t too far away from the stadium, but with just one road to and from the ground, it still took us over an hour to get there. Upon reaching the turnstile, one of the blokes we were with realised he had lost his ticket. He managed to buy one outside the ground for just £20, less than the face value of his original ticket. That is unheard of at a major tournament, where most of the time you would expect to pay three or four times face value for an England game.
I was very disappointed after the game, as the England players stood in the centre circle and aimed a clap at each end of the ground. Us fans had travelled half way around the world to see them play, and had filled half of the ground as we always do when travelling away to major tournaments, so I thought they at least owed us enough to come down towards our stand and cheer us properly. In comparison, the entire US squad went over to their fans and saluted them for their support.
After the game, our South African chauffeur picked us up from the ground and took us back to our hotels in Pretoria. An absolute joke of a journey that took us until gone 2:30 to get back, a four hour journey that should have taken us around an hour and a half. A scary site welcomed us when we got off the bus, the hotel security guard was roaming the car park in a bomber jacket and balaclava, although he did greet us and wish us a good night.
The next day Ghana and Serbia were playing in Pretoria, so all the lads decided to get a ticket to the game. Me and Dad decided against going, especially seen as if we had got a ticket, we wouldn’t be sitting with any of the people we were travelling with. Instead we spent the day in the Eastwoods Tavern, a bar recommended to us by our South African driver that happened to be right down the street from where the Serbia game was being played. A little more expensive than the 40p a bottle the previous day, a pint was 350 ZAR (around £3.50). Two of the lads with us on the trip decided to stay until late into the first half and the four of us had a great laugh in the sunshine as we downed the beers, watching the game on the massive screen out the back of the bar.
We were then picked up after the game and taken to the airport where we began our long journey home. As I said, a great trip, although it is amazing when you think of what we all went through just to see our beloved country play a game of football on the greatest stage in the world.
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