Exiled_Rover

No wonder we're losing then, a moment of madness from Hughes it seems. Mokoena can't defend for toffee, everybody and their brother knows that. Are Zura and Todd injured? That's the only way I'd choose that back four.

But fair.

You might want to establish some guidelines before you put that one infront of the F.A. Dawn French, for example, parading around in the buff wouldn't be my cup of tea.

We have a winner.

Jack Walker, Upper Tier. Crap atmosphere, cracking view.

A cheeky bid for N'Zogbia is in order methinks. Cracking player.

Wasn't Fettis about 5'3"?

Utter rubbish. There are a dozen quality English players Sven refused to select for one reason or another - such as Hibburt at Everton, numerous strikers, Parker, etc etc. The man is incompetent and has wasted a good portion of what some see as our 'Golden Generation'. In my opinion, however, there is a clear correlation between quality English youngsters coming through the Academy ranks and the influx of foreign players - survival of the fittest. Those that do make it through are invariably very good - in yesteryear those plying their trade in the Championship would be stars in the top flight, clearly that is not the case now. You're basing this opinion on one sample. I'll retort with Manchester City, Aston Villa and Middlesboro - how many young, promising, English players have come through their ranks recently? Exactly. Our Academy is vastly overrated based on it's production - right now we're desparate for anybody to break into the first team squad and as a result we're focusing our scouting network abroad.

Wenger's dubbing of Jeffers as a 'Fox in the Box' should answer that question. He thought he was getting a young striker capable of bagging 20 goals a season in L'Arse's system.

It could turn out to be a very shrewd signing. The lad obviously has talent and he's still young. If anyone is going to get this once promising career back on track it's Hughes and his coaching staff - both physically and mentally. I have no problems with this signing at all. Very much a low risk, high reward scenario.

How anyone can argue against the awarding of a penalty is beyond me, it's pretty much nailed on. Lucas has once again had a lapse in concentration and has gone diving into a situation that didn't require such drastic action. Very foolish.

Lampard should never pull on an England shirt again, he's been woeful the entire tourament. Same formation next game with Hargreaves holding for Carrick (who's distribution was excellent) and Gerrard. Lennon should also start, Beckham has done nothing to earn his place (thought that free kick has probably bought himself another year of Captaincy). We're unbelievably slow and need an injection of both pace and width - Lennon provides both.

Oh dear, he's comprehensively better than those in bold already, and a case could be made for many of the others. Yes, and they're a vastly inferior side without him. He makes both England and United tick, and he's still only 20 years of age. Frightening.

Rooney, easily - he makes the whole side tick. Unfortunately, last I heard, they'll both be at United next year

Septic Tank is Aussie slang for Yankee

I'd have taken Owen and Rooney, just as the #4 and #5 strikers. If they come good, fantastic, but your success isn't tied to their fitness. Ashton, Bent and Beattie for me - not the most threatening of forward lines, I agree, but at least they'll be available for selection every game and they're all capable of scoring goals - not to mention the tactical options they provide i.e, Bent can play upfront on his own, all three provide you with a target man (to a varying degree), Ashton can play 'in the hole' etc etc. Ah well, at least we've qualified for the knockout stages, eh?

Sven Eriksson, football genius? His smart decision to take two crocks, a kid and a statue seems to really be paying off

The Korean fans are fantastic

Actually that's the Yank's fault again for pulling out of the League of Nations, but I digress On a related note, it seems like our lads are behaving themselves, which is nice to see.

I'd drop him in a heartbeat for a defensive midfielder(in a midfield 4 ) - anything that frees up Gerrard is fine by me. Quite frankly I'm leaning towards a five man midfield with the team we have at this tournament, which incidentally is the only system I've seen Lampard suceed in.

Sack the Swede, utter @#/?. This side is pedestrian, the forward line is a joke and the centre of midfield can't play together. Not that anything will change at half time. I think it sums it up that the hopes of a nation rest on the shoulders of a 20 year old, a crocked one at that. Quite frankly the team is a disgrace right now.

It's next to Togo and the Ivory Coast, a hotbed of football I've been impressed with Desailly and O'Neill tonight, even if they still struggle to get a wold in edgeways. Mr Hansen has to have his screen time

You've won then, they have Adebayor for god's sake

The has been and the never was - had to mute the game after five minutes. I agree Rover6, O'Neill was the only one yesterday who knew what he was talkin about, unfortunately he was drowned out by Hansen and Shearer.

Utter garbage, once again the team hasn't played to the sum of it's parts. If you look at that team sheet (besides the @#/? forward line) they should be steamrolling teams, not squeaking out a fortunate win. Yet again Sven has shown his complete lack of tactical nouse, especially in his choice of forwards- Crouch has about as much mobility as a statue, yet he was upfront on his own, pure genius. Walcott wasn't risked, for reasons unbeknown to me whilst Owen is clearly still not fully fit (his match sharpness leaves a lot to be desired). Overall we'll get fairly deep into the competition only to be comprehensively outclassed by quality opposition. Which is a shame considering the talent the England manager has available.