I know it isn't a very helpful post, but I'd have Venables back in a flash over Eriksson or Maclaren.

It may be a bit late to start messing with fromations, but i'd give this a go.

---------------- Robbo -----------------

---------------------------------------

-------- Carra --- Terry ---- Rio --------

-- Becks ----------------------- A.Cole --

---------------- Carrick -----------------

------- Lamps --------- Gerrard ---------

---------------- Rooney ----------------

---------- Crouch ----------------------

And you could also use J.Cole off the bench as he could play any where in the midfield quartet.

Very good suggestion. Only thing I would change is swapping Lennon for Lampard. I know I've just said it, but my reasoning is that Lennon and Beckham are vital to the team. Beckham's set pieces are our only real source of goals, while Lennon's pace can open up oppositions defences in seconds. The two looked great together tonight.

Lampard is not as good a player as Gerrard and, what is more, he has been pretty much anonymous these last two games. Gerrard on the other hand has done ok and scored a screamer today.

Only problem with that formation is that Beckham is not a defender and I could see better opposition ripping us to shreads. Perhaps as a formation to change to when going a goal behind?

Also, come on Abbey, get a grip. Crouch is a very good player and has been consistently good for five games running now. He is the only player in the squad that can win headers and gives us something different.

AND he does the robot!

Greggy, I agree that we desperately need a holding player, but IMO, Beckham and Lennon are the two most vital players for this team - more so than Rooney - and we need them both in the team. How we accommodate them though, i have no idea!

Beckham is too valuable through his set pieces alone. He and Lennon looked ###### hot down the right.

Lechuck, I posted that at the end of the first half. In that first half Lampard barely touched the ball. He never got into good positions and didn't make any significant impact whatsoever. He was absolutely wasted. he did not look like scoring in a million years.

Second half was much of the same until Lennon and Downing came on. Then space was freed for him to run into and he made some decent runs. He got into good scoring positions three times, but he should have scored from at least one of them, maybe all three. One I would certainly consider a bad miss.

It wasn't so much Lampard playing badly, but him being played in a formation that does not accommodate two attacking midfielders. He was just totally anonymous.

Also, why are Lampard and Gerrard shooting as soon as they get the ball in any position, no matter how unlikely they'll score. I have no problems with Gerrard shooting when he has space and a clear site of goal, like he did for the second goal, but some of the shots these two were doing were just awful.

Lennon was MOTM for me. Only on for 30 minutes, but that is how bad we were. He changed the game and with him and Downing on the pitch we had three players putting quality balls into the box (Downing, Lennon and Beckham.)

Lastly, what the HELL?! No robot from Crouch?! That's it, get him out!

Seriously though, he did quite well when the ball wasn't just hoofed up to him at every opportunity. I like Crouch a lot and think he should be in the team over Owen.

I'm actualy amazed we are playing so badly. How on earth has this man managed to go so far in football. Anybody could employ these tactics.

ARGH!

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH

I'm afraid it's on ITV so no Hansen.

However, I'd love to hear Hansen over these guys. They are giving England far too much respect. At least Hansen would say how bad we are playing.

I swear Sven is paid millions to tell the defense to smack the ball as far upfrield as possible and for Gerrard and Lampard to shoot from any position as soon as they get the ball! This is just so infuriating!

Lampard must be the most anonymous player at this world cup. He doesn't pass, he doesn't tackle - all he does is shoot, missing every time.

We'll definately lose to Germany if we get them and I can actually see us losing to Equador. We really are that bad.

He is hardly a @#/? player. He has performed well for Liverpool all season and scored a very good goal for England the other night.

He might not be a great player, or even good enough for the England squad (although I think he is) but he is hardly @#/?. Some people really amaze me.

I hope that both you and Mr. Wright will be so calm and matter of fact about it should England get knocked out of the competition to a similar bit of play from an opposition.

However, I rather think not. Instead we will get months and months of whinging of how 'we were robbed' and calling for lifetime bans for players who cheat, with no-one able to see that we are unable to take the moral high ground if we condone our players doing the same sort of thing?

You've clearly misunderstood what I've said. I would be totaly ###### if someojne cheated us oput of a result, buit seeing as every nation in the world would docthe same as us, then we might as well do the same.

I hate cheating, but almost every player, in every team, in every country does it. Why do people get so angry when we do it ourselves? I always say that we should take these opportunities to win penalties because it will probably happen to us a few games later.

Ian Wright was absolutely spot on with what he said! Every team in the world will try to do that against us. Should we be the only ones that don't? Hell no!

Wright was also very much spot on with his "boring" analysis of the game and I agreed fully that Carrick should have played at least some kind of role. What the hell was Carragher doing in defensive midfield?

I'd love Souness to come back in to football management. Football isn't the same without his personality

True. Either way I just cannot understand why the ref did what he did.

I'm so disapointed for Arsenal. They played so well in the first half and didn't really stand a chance in the second.

Maybe I just don't know the rules, but I just cannot comprehend the logic behind bringing the ball back after the foul and sending Lehman off. It's not as if Arsenal players stopped running because the ref blew his whistle, so it wasn't an advantage to Arsenal and disallowing a goal was by no means giving Barcelona the advantage. If the foul was so bad then surely the ref should have allowed the goal and then sent Lehman off...

There are only players that play in Premier league

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I'm going to play, but it looks a bit crap to be honest.

Is there another one with all players available to be picked?

Have not many of the teams in the world cup submitted their final squad lists? It's just that there aren't many players to chose from...

If Chelsea play the formation suggested by the BBC then I think I might put a little money on someone else to win the league. It doesn't matter how much talent is in that midfield, I just can't see it working.

I will see how Liverpool, United and Arsenal spend and then decide who to back.

I have a real feeling that Liverpool could push Chelsea to the wire if they spend well this summer.

Well I'm happy with a respectable 27th place. Cheers for that Philly, I seem to remember you doing this last season and me coming around the same place. That's consistency, that is.

Carragher at left back?! When we have probably the best left back in the world and a very good backup? What possible reason could you have for playing somebody out of position when we have A. Cole and Bridge who can do a fantastic job?!

Disgrace is a bit harsh, but I am glad to see the back of him. Even if it does mean McClaren coming in.

Haha, fair enough. In any case, he's be a better option than Walcott, but then I can name about 10 players I'd rather have!

My friend is a devoted Hammers fan and he doesn't think Ashton is the finished article by a long shot. He laughes at me when I suggest we give Ashton a call. You got to admit, he's only had half a season in the prem.

Drop Walcott for Defoe, drop Jenas for Bent and Hargreaves for SWP, now that would be an exciting, attacking squad!

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You propose we bring Wright-Phillips in and have a squad with three right midfielders?

I agree with most of the people on here. If anything happens to Crouch, or he doesn't perform, then we have nobody to aim for, nobody that can hold it up and win it in the air. What a slap in the face for Darren Bent. I wonder what more he can do...

Not only that, but most of them weren't very good anyway! Probably half of them I wouldn't consider better than a "good save."