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Slipperduke

The Camden Cad
Joined
Aug 24, 2004
Messages
4,333
Location
North London
If his first year was all about getting back to basics, Fabio Capello's second will be spent rebuilding England's tattered reputation. European football fans still laugh at the 'superpower' nation that couldn't even qualify for Euro08, but they will laugh no longer if Spain are vanquished in Seville tonight. Don't be too quick to mock, this is an England side far more competent and coherent than we have seen for some time.

Capello inherited an abject and motley collection of footballers, but he has steadily drilled them into a well-organised, disciplined team capable of playing in a variety of formations and no longer reliant on individual performers. The win against Croatia was achieved without Steven Gerrard. The victory in Belarus without John Terry. The casual mateyness of the McClaren era has been swept away. The players have rules and standards to adhere to and, if they do qualify for the 2010 World Cup, I very much doubt that their wives and girlfriends will be allowed to tag along this time round. Not that they'll mind, I hear the shops in South Africa aren't as bountiful as those in continental Europe.

The confidence seeping out of this team is there for all to see, not least because Capello himself has told reporters that he expects to see an England win. Expects? Against the reigning European Champions? Can you imagine him saying that a year ago? This is a better kind of belief than the foolish hubris of previous years. Before Euro08, the players seemed to think that they only needed to appear on the pitch in order to secure the points. Now they know better. And there is pace in the team as well. Capello has packed six Aston Villa players for the journey, including Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor.

The only concern for Capello is the identity of his other striker. Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Jermain Defoe and Theo Walcott are out injured, while Emile Heskey is carrying an injury. That could mean a starting berth for Carlton Cole, a player who is much better statistically than he is realistically. Cole has flourished under Gianfranco Zola, but still remains incapable of hitting large targets from close ranges. It could be that his scattergun approach to the game is simply a product of low self-confidence, but it is not without good reason that the West Ham fans have nicknamed him, "Can't Control."

Hitman concerns aside, this should be a very intriguing game. Spain remain one of the finest sides in the world, though they will be missing players. Carlos Puyol joins Sesc Fabregas on the sidelines and Fernando Torres is still to fully recover from a series of niggling injuries. The Spanish play quick, pass and move football, but few defences seem as solid as John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. There is only so much you can read into the result of a friendly, but if England can build on their perfect World Cup qualifying campaign with a win over the European Champions, it might just make a few people around the world sit up and take notice.
 
Taken from the BBC:

ENGLAND v SPAIN
Venue: Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, Seville Date: Wed, 11 February
Kick-off: 2100 GMT Coverage: Text commentary on the BBC Sport website and live on BBC Radio Five Live. Live on ITV1

I'd imagine it's going in the paper for tomorrow's issue BM.
 
It took a lot of getting used to. Especially if you're covering an evening match, say Tuesday night (UK), and because of the deadlines and timezones you know the article won't appear until Thursday morning (SP).

Suddenly you find yourself writing about a game that has only just finished and describing it as, "earlier this week," or , "early yesterday morning."

But yes, England play tonight at 2100hrs, or tomorrow morning at 0500hrs if you're in Singapore.
 
England have come an awful long way under Fabio and long may it continue, but like you point out the main problem still appears to be in the striker department. There isn't a genuine depth to the centre forward position as their is for say the centre half spot.

Once Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen (Even though he hardly figures for England under Fabio) are injured we are stuck with, frankly, not an international class striker. Heskey is brilliant in what he does, one of the best in the business, you could class him as an International striker without the International record. Crouch is an ideal sub, or plan B with his height but the others aren't up to the standard.

Agbonlahor looks to be a real talent, plenty of pace, but his still raw. Look at his performance against Portsmouth, he was put through one-on-one with David James and put it wide. If you are International class you hit the target, no questions about it.

Cole at West Ham is having a purple patch for his side, but what else has he achieved in his career? I bet his goal record is very poor. Defoe has never done it on the International stage, same with Darren Bent. Kevin Davies is a proper English centre forward, I heard not too long ago his the top scoring English centre forward in the Premiership this season.

Who else is there?
 
I still think a Wayne Rooney Theo Walcott partnership will prove to be fruitful when Theo is slightly more mature than he is now and injury free. Rooney loves to drop deep and do the "Donkey" work, and if you look at his club form he performs best when partnered with lightening quick Ronaldo. Put him alongside Walcott and you have a strike partnership with the potential to truly damage teams.
 
I still think a Wayne Rooney Theo Walcott partnership will prove to be fruitful when Theo is slightly more mature than he is now and injury free. Rooney loves to drop deep and do the "Donkey" work, and if you look at his club form he performs best when partnered with lightening quick Ronaldo. Put him alongside Walcott and you have a strike partnership with the potential to truly damage teams.

true,

I can see an england team for the WC looking like

................foster?..................
???.........rio......terry......a-cole
...............carrick...................
walcott....lamps/gerrard....j-cole/a-young
................rooney..................
...............agbonlahor..............

A very Man Utd style midfield
 
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