The Stoketshirts.co.uk blog

Player Ratings First:

James – 6 – Did all that was asked of him but never looked confident and his defence looked like strangers to him.

Johnson – 5 – Can’t defend and he never showed any of his supposed attacking prowess. Unfortunately he’s all we’ve got.

Carragher – 6 – Even if he’s slow and clumsy, he did a decent job of getting the basics right, unlike everybody else.

Terry – 5 – Another shaky performance.

Cole – 5 – Was more willing to get up the flank, but was poor in his control of the ball and his he ultimately contributed very little.

Lennon – 5 – Struggled to get into the game and when he did, he made some very poor decisions.

Lampard – 4 – His tournament must end now if England are to progress.

Barry – 5 – Some good defensive play in the first half, but as the game went on his distribution got worse and worse.

Gerrard – 5 – Showed promise when he drifted into the middle, but you cannot, you absolutely cannot, just abandon your post like that with absolutely no discipline whatsoever. He was played on the left wing and he left that area of the pitch completely empty most of the time.

Heskey – 6 – Not as good as he was against the USA, but once again he was the only player in England’s attack to actually turn up and do a job. He gets more criticism than he deserves.

Rooney – 4 – The pressure seems to be really getting to him. When I’ve seen him in person, he has almost never given the ball away. This time, every time the ball touched him it would almost instantly return to Algeria.

Wright-Phillips – 5.5 – Just plain not good enough.

Defoe – 5 – Offered absolutely nothing.

Crouch – 5 – Barely touched the ball.

Let’s make no bones about it; this performance was simply not good enough. We weren’t stifled by a team that set out to defend, as Algeria had no such intention and were just as courageous as us. Like the USA, Algeria is a very poor side comprised mostly of players who play several levels below England’s superstars. The fact that one of their biggest stars, Madjid Bougherra, spent a large portion of his time at Crewe Alexandra and Sheffield Wednesday should tell you an awful lot about the quality of player that they have. Responsibility has to lie with both the players and the manager. You may disagree with the team that Capello fielded, I know I did, or even his system, but the 11 players out there should have been capable of scoring at least one against such a poor team. Lampard have several opportunities to put England players through on goal, but instead chose to take a hopeless shot from thirty yards or give it away, Gerrard cost the team width and balance by choosing to spend the entire game sitting in the middle and Rooney seemed to completely buckle under the pressure, having now failed to do anything productive in 180 minutes of football.

I worry that the manager has fallen prey to one of Sven’s biggest weaknesses. We all knew with depressing certainty in Euro 2004 that no matter how poorly David Beckham played, he would be guaranteed to play the full 90 minutes. I get the impression that the manager thinks that certain players seem to do so well for their clubs and are so highly rated by everyone that they must play, no matter what. The fact is this: England have only one world class player, Wayne Rooney. The likes of Gerrard, Lampard and Terry are good players, but are massively limited and selfish in an England shirt. They stand out in the Premier League, but that is because they get away with murder thanks to the assistance of their superior foreign team-mates and the referee. All three can do the spectacular stuff, but are simply nowhere near world class. They get all the plaudits simply because they are English players who do the spectacular stuff for their side. Gerrard may still score screamers from the edge of the box in the last minute for Liverpool, but it’s no coincidence that he’s been powerless to stop their slide since the sale of Xabi Alonso. The manager must make some gutsy calls in time for the next game. He’s the man who shipped Ronaldo out of Real Madrid, so I don’t think it’s beyond him.
He would do well to learn from Stoke City’s example. On paper, most teams would probably fancy themselves against Stoke, but there is a rigid system packed full of players who fill a very specific role in that system. If players don’t fit in, they don’t get in the team. People may tear their hair out when the likes of Tuncay and Kitson can’t hold down a place, but the right players play in the right system and it works. For what it’s worth, I believe that England has the right system, but we are picking the wrong players for that system. The midfield is currently the weakness and 2 chances created in 180 minutes of football goes a long way to showing that. Gerrard finally seems to have hit form for England and he’s been sandwiched into the left wing position. On a good day, he’s ineffective there, and on a bad game like last night he’s completely free of discipline and just wanders about doing whatever he pleases, completely abandoning his post. Joe Cole, the only player in the England squad with experience of playing on the left wing at international level and one of England’s few creative sparks, seems to be behind Lennon, Wright-Phillips, Gerrard and Rooney in the picking order for the left wing position. This just does not make sense. Gerrard is probably England’s best central midfielder and is wasted out wide, keeping somebody who can play in that position out of the team (sound familiar, Stoke fans?). The odd one out is Lampard, who for all his superstardom is simply not good enough. I suspect some supporters will be unable to cope with the loss of somebody who is ‘obviously’ good, but if you cannot fit in, you are nothing to the team. Barry should partner Gerrard, but we’d be much, much stronger in the centre if Paul Scholes had been convinced to return. He’s done his job very quietly this season and he doesn’t get forward as much these days, but Scholes is still the best English central midfielder. He can receive the ball off the defence and his range of passing is then superb. England sorely misses somebody like him. Up front, the Heskey and Rooney partnership is probably the best we have, but their roles need to change slightly. Heskey should drop a little deeper and Rooney should focus on spearheading the attack as an out and out striker rather than falling back into midfield. At the very least, those small tweaks would us through to the next round, but Capello must have the guts to stand by his system and get rid of Lampard.

So what of last night’s game? I think ‘nervy’ is a bad description, but the pressure certainly showed. Every single player on the pitch was so desperate to stand out that they made some very poor decisions and were not playing for the team. Carragher nearly scored an own goal trying to unnecessarily clear a cross that was going straight to James, Terry headed a ball into a dangerous position when it was sailing out for a goal-kick. In attack, Rooney and Cole were guilty of taking on too many defenders, while Lennon was obsessed with fancy flicks instead of doing the simple job of getting down the line and putting balls into the box. Gerrard wanted to take the starring role in the middle rather than settling down on the left. Lampard went for long shots when there were better options while Barry did a decent job of winning the ball but tried ambitious passes that almost always failed. Perhaps Capello has kept the players on their toes too much and now they are desperate to stand out in case they lose their place. I think the old ‘fear of failure’ is starting to creep back in as well, something that Sven combated pretty well. This is going to be a very big few days and the manager must handle the players well. Clough always said that his players were at their best when they were relaxed and enjoying themselves and you’re inclined to agree. A bit of team spirit and camaraderie would not go amiss. It’s all well and good to see Rooney mouthing off at the camera last night and complain that the players are living in a bubble, but Capello must create a bubble for the players now, isolated from the prying eyes of the press and the criticism of the supporters. 6 days is no amount of time to create a hard working team ethic, but it is what must be done. They must learn to fight tooth and nail for each other and for their nation.

Ultimately, few players played well. Heskey was average at best when it came to doing what was expected of him and Carragher was better than Terry, but that really is as good as it gets. The midfield was absolutely dire and chance creation was minimal. It’s unlikely that we’d have taken any chances that were created because the top English goalscorer last season had to come all the way back into the middle at actually touch the ball. Ashley Cole would probably have been more effective on the left if he had a left winger to help him out, rather than having to do all the work on his own. England failed to outshine the Algerians in a game that was ultimately a stalemate. Great if you’re Algerian, a disaster for England. This was simply not good enough.

My team for Slovenia:

James

Johnson Terry Dawson A. Cole

Lennon Gerrard Barry J. Cole

Heskey

Rooney

Thank goodness that game will be on the BBC. If I have to listen to another 90 minutes of commentary from those idiots at ITV I may end up putting the television through the window. Everything ITV do is amateurish, cheap and pathetic, be it their football coverage or shows such as the X-Factor. There are too many adverts to make it watchable, but when you listen to Tyldsley, Beglin, Southgate and all the rest trying to talk about football, you realise that the adverts are actually the best bit. Tyldsley and Townsend are so incapable of tactically analysing a game that when somebody suggests something novel like changing the system, they become like a dog with a bone and will just not shut up about it, despite it being apparent that it will simply not happen. In the studio, the panel just spout some extra nonsense to go with it all. The fact that Adrian Chiles, a decent bloke whose forte is a more informal, jokey programme such as Match of the Day 2, is fronting the supposedly ultra-sleek and professional World Cup show says it all. The BBC’s standards are pretty low as well, embarrassing even, so thank goodness for the insights of Mick McCarthy.

Somebody please shut them up.

England can beat Slovenia and fulfill their potential, but they must play the right players for the system.

In 1982 I was outside the Victoria Ground before a home game against Liverpool.   The Stoke team bus came and the players got off in bits and pieces.  Many larking about and preferring to finish their game of cards on the bus before going into the dressing room to prepare for the match.   Five minutes later the Liverpool bus arrived.   As soon as the bus pulled up their players were up and ready to enter the stadium and win the game of football.  Focussed and ready, they all stepped off the bus, eyes filled with the focus of European Champions.  Single file they were ambassadorial and shook a few hands and signed a few autographs on the way, but all they had in mind was winning the game of football.   And they did.   They thrashed us 5-1.  Few sides in Europe could handle Liverpool in those days but the game was won as soon as they arrived at the stadium. 

Compare this to the England team bus that arrived at Capetown’s Green Point Stadium for the game against Algeria.  As our players left the bus to enter the stadium they had fear in their eyes.    They didn’t look focused they looked frightened.   The weight of expectation wasn’t an inspiration it was a burden.  But why?  There weren’t there to face a firing squad they were there to play a game of football, a game they expected to win.    In his autobiography Steve Gerrard admits that much of the extra time against Portugal in 2006 he played in a daze such was his fear of taking a penalty in the shootout.  This is despite the fact in Istanbul the year before he took a perfect one and only six weeks before had executed one in the FA Cup Final shootout.   Fear. 

The fear was demonstrated  by much of the performance.   It’s to Gerrard’s credit that in these two games he has been one of the few to carry the games to the opposition, yet twice against Algeria, he was through on goal and instead of shooting chose to square the ball and the move was snuffed out.  Similarly Emile Heskey was through and didn’t take responsibility and chose to try a pass.   England’s inability to make the most basic passes was painfully clear for all to see, as was the inability to control a ball.  Wayne Rooney may want to, er, ‘Write the future’ but to be remembered with fondness you must perform on the biggest stage.  In the two games so far Wazza  has been hopelessly inadequate, unfit?  Instead of  berating the fans who have the audacity to jeer the team for their dull trudging, perhaps he should consider applying himself to his game and trying to justify his status.  You know, like an adult would.   Can he complain about the pressure on him when he willingly did that advert about writing the future?  And what reaction can he expect?  Those supporters have spent thousands to be there.  Is he so detached he can’t relate to that frustration?  

The problem is in the head.  While England are far from a World Cup winning team beating Algeria shouldn’t have been a major obstacle.  The fear has engulfed the squad.   Brian Clough used to say that being relaxed was the key to everything and that nobody can achieve anything with fear in their heart.   Seeing our players lunging from one misshaped bodge job to the next and  feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders old big eds words are unfathomably wise.   After the game Capello was clearly exasperated by his players crumbling under pressure.  Of course they will be hurt by that but instead of getting precious it’s make more sense for them to consider his words and respond to them instead of reacting to them, like adults would.

When they get off the bus before Slovenia, for the last chance we don’t deserve, they need to take responsibility, show the arrogance, discipline and psychology Liverpool showed 28 years ago – like adults would.

This World Cup has been underway for nearly a week and the most amazing shocking thing is the refereeing so far…..it’s actually been quite good!!    There have been a couple of goals that may have been given offside but overall it’s been competent which is pleasing.    This time FIFA seem to have gone easy on the new directives that are introduced on the eve of compettitions which serve only to confuse players and refs alike.  Which means Domenech can only blame balltitiude and vuvuzelas for France’s lame tepid clueless unimaginative trudges.  The big question is how he’s managed to cling onto his job.  He’s nearly gone and few French football fans will be sorry.  When Thierry handled them to the finals there were even some French fans who were disappointed because it meant another six months with him in  charge.   Although the point has to be made, their players don’t emerge from this with much credit either.  They never showed any desire  to go out and make the difference and win either game.  Suicidal against a technically proficient well disciplined side like Mexico.   But all isn’t lost.  France could yet go on to lift the trophy and, now I’ve praised the refs, Algeria will beat England  in controversial circuimstances. 

When South Korea pulled the goal back against Argentina it was refreshing that the South Americans continued to move forward.  Too many sides would have taken the cautious route and sat resolutely on what they had.   They got the reward too.  In the hullabaloo surrounding Messi it’s pleasing that Higuain got some acclaim.   It’s hard not to feel though that when they face higher class opposition the defence could be exposed and the lack of Cambiasso could yet prove costly to them.  Another entertaining aspect of Argentina’s games is Maradona patrolling the touchline with the air of an evil genius.  It seems a matter of time until he does something crazy.   When they face trouble you can imagine him dashing on the pitch and digging a hole or  doing an Ozzy Osbourne and biting a bat’s head off or something. 

England tomorrow morning!!  James is replacing Green in goal.  Why?  What has Green made a mistake or something?   Gareth Barry’s return is welcome but he’ll experience a strange kind of pressure.  Usually long awaited comebacks are for strikers.  There no pushovers at this level but Algeria is a game we can reasonably expect to win.    Lets blow the cobwebs away and get the job done.  COME ON ENGLAND!!  (although I’ll be pleased enough with a dirty crappy 1-0 with the goal a deflection off a passing dog!!)

Just a few quick lines before the USA’ HUGE World Cup game/match tomorrow against a well organized Slovenia. Sitting here on the Gulf Coast on Marco Island, FL waiting for the oil to come ashore in an empty beach resort it gets easy to put this game into perspective. Do or die for our World Cup hopes, but very insignificant compared to the pending environmental disaster. That being said most of the “soccer talk” at the resort is about England – Algeria! Seems like the only people in this hotel besides me are England fans! Oh the irony! At the end of the future nuclear armegeddon there will only be cockroaches and England fans left on the earth!

Not used to the USA being a favorite in a WC match and it makes me nervous. I predict 1-0 USA on a set piece where Landon Donavan’s 13th. beautiful set piece is finally put into the net by the wasteful Jozy Altidore. Tim Howard cements his place as the top goalie of the tournament and the USA is into the final 16. A guy can hope!

“Football is a simple game complicated by idiots”  Bill Shankly

So holders Italy  rather fortuitously drew with Paraguay.   Brazil who are, well, Brazil, only beat North Korea 2-1 with the late consolation being one of the more surprising  World Cup moments with European Champions and highly fancied Spain   beaten by Switzerland. 

Bearing these results in mind, can we please put England’s draw with the USA in perspective??    Of course we’d have liked to start with a win, (who wouldn’t?)  but the level of  criticism it’s provoked is beyond reason.  The fact is that in a competition like this every side you face will present problems, even North Korea!!  Looking back plenty of teams have made slow starts and gone on to have a fantastic tournament, not least England in 1990.  In 1982 Italy were dire in the group stage then came through the pack and proved themselves to be the best side there.   It doesn’t mean everything is all right or that FabCap hasn’t made mistakes or have questions to answer.  It does  show that it’s more important to respond to a situation than to react to it. There’s still plenty of time to do just that.   A defeat to Algeria would be the time for soul searching and navel contemplation. And if it isn’t a swashbuckling 8-0 victory so be it.  It’s a marathon not a snickers.  Just ask Spain….

Spain’s defeat wasn’t really  the colossal shock it’s being made out to be.  Until 2008 they were known for bottling at crucial times. Winning the Euro might have settled them down but could also have increased unwanted pressure.  Whether they are strong enough to handle that pressure we’ll find out in the coming weeks. If the game against Switzerland is a pointer the answer would have to be that they aren’t.  Hitzveld and his team did a remarkable job on their more illustrious opponents.   For much of the first half they had to allow Spain to have the ball BUT only in areas they knew they couldn’t get hurt.   They went back to the simple principle that they couldn’t out play them so they had to outnumber them.  And in the centre of the park Spain rarely got the chance to flow.  Great work by the Swiss.  Discipline and strategy upsetting the flarier team isn’t always the popular outcome but alternatively Switzerland could have let them play with fluidity and got beaten 6-0.  If you were Swiss what would you prefer??    And when someone claims to be a football purist  it just tells me they don’t or haven’t experienced the game to the same emotional depth that I do.  And YES I am arrogant enough to say that!!

Seventeen games gone and this World Cup is starting to ignite.   Let’s hope the momentum continues.

Hi,
I’m a glory hunting Yank Stoke fan living in Tampa, Florida. Only been a Potter’s fan for two years but you have to start sometime! I’ll be blogging about Team USA in WC 2010 (I got a feeling we are gonna have a good tournament) and the other love of my life, US 2nd Div debutantes FC Tampa Bay Rowdies.
I travel a lot to the Middle East with my job and manage to catch some games that I’ll talk about on here every once in a while. Hope you enjoy!
Sean

Longthrow Does The Longride 3

Rory before the ride in 2009 (courtesy of the Sentinel)

Rory Delap, is once again setting off on a bike ride to raise money for The Donna Louise Children’s Hospice Trust. The latest journey will depart from Whitehaven docks at 7am on Saturday 26th June with the aim of cycling the challenging 140 miles coast to coast ride to Tynemouth in only two days.
The world famous exponent of the Longthrow will be joined by his brother in law Andrew Bretnall who has also taken part in the two previous fundraising rides in 2008 and 2009.

Rory gets set to go

To read about Rory’s motivation to do the challenge and more crucially to SPONSOR him then please see his justgiving page here:-
http://www.justgiving.com/RorysBigBikeRide

See the excellent video diary done by Dave Knapper of The Sentinel of last years “Longthrow does the Longride” here:-
http://www.whydelilah.co.uk/news/22_Jun_2009/Rory%27s+long+ride+-+VIDEO.html

There is also link below to the story that Sky sports did of Rory’s ride last year.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5353702,00.html

Please do whatever you can to support Rory and this great cause.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.    If Reid hadn’t scored that late equaliser for New Zealand, AKA The All Whites, I’d have won $50 in my first accumulatory wager of the competition.  Not to win is no huge shock as my predictions are legendarily 100% wrong!!   In fact, I thought the result which would bring me unstuck was gambling on Ivory Coast and Portugal drawing which proves I can’t even correctly predict what I’ve wrongly predicted!

When that late glancing header sneaked in cheers could be heard up and down our street.  The local New Zealanders obviously prepared to sacrifice sleep to enjoy a piece of history.  This morning several local Kiwis rushed up to discuss last nights drama.  Several showed me the excited texts they had received from family and friends across The Tasman Sea.  Some of them wouldn’t have been born the last time New Zealand qualified in 1982.  It’s unlikely that many of these people have ever really considered football before….the All Blacks dominating their national sporting landscape.   But there was a significant awareness that this has taken the image of their country into new terrritory.  That little kids in La Paz will be talking of Reid’s goal and how Slovakia blew a precious lead.   The supermarkets of Sofia with shoppers saying the Slovakia goal should have been given offside anyway.  The cafe’s of Sydney with locals disgruntled at being outdone by their Australisian rivals.  And, most importantly, those standing around the water coolers of Wellington and bursting with pride. 

What happens next to New Zealand isn’t as crucial as that moment.  It could be that they never experience that high for another twenty eight years.   But the euphoria that goal bright can never be taken away…and well worth missing out on $50!!    It was a special moment and it’s enormity shows why football is the greatest and most captivating game on earth.

There is something familiar about the current Dutch squad….rifts.   The Netherlands for many years have had their huge potential disrupted by infighting.   When he managed Chelsea, Ruud Gullit said he had deliberately triggered off some conflict in the squad claiming the creative tension was good for the team dynamic.  It wasn’t particularly good for the Dutch team dynamic in 1994 when Gullit himself stormed out of the squad.  As for the claim about ‘creative tension’ being good for the team,the facts suggest otherwise…the only time the  squad has been devoid of this squabbling was 1988 and they fulfilled their potential by becoming European champions.   The staggering thing is that in their current set up the tension is between Snejider and Van Persie and was partly triggered off by a disagreement over who should take a free kick.  For heavens sake, are they twelve years old??  In a squad of 22 people there is bound to be friction but are the egos really so huge and fragile?

Eight games gone sixteen teams on display.  The point has to be made that, so far, this World Cup hasn’t been particularly thrilling.  Too many average teams plodding along.   Argentina showed some style and at times played with great fluidity.   Apart from that this noggerfest is yet to ignite.  One factor/excuse (delete where necessary) is the balltitude.  A debilitating combination of altitude and a new ball which makes cohesive play impossible.   To be fair though, some of the top sides are yet to play.   And, most importantly, a Stoke player will be playing for Denmark so the standard is sure to increase dramatically!!!

Tommy Sorensen Hoodie from Stoketshirts.co.uk

Australia were woeful against Germany.  Even allowing for the fact they were up against one of football’s true powerhouses, they were off the pace and looked like overawed rabbits trapped in headlights.  Rabbits may not feel overawed when trapped in headlights but that’s how Australia’s looked.   I ventured to the pub for an all nighter and half an hour before  kick off I bumped into my mate Indecisive Mike who was bristling with excitement because  he’ll be flying out to South Africa to attend the games against Ghana and Serbia.  It’s always been a dream to go to a World Cup so to be able to go and watch Australia was a special thing.   The early exuberance of the large crowd in the pub soon turned to anxiety.   One of the moments when it becomes clear that on the football stage Australia are still a small player amongst giants.  German competence was  enough to overpower their lame tepid resistance.   Cahill was unlucky to see red but to place to much emphasis on that would be to hide from the cold hard truths of this flimsy ‘performance’.  To their credit they didn’t blame the balltitude. 

At the end of the game as the pub emptied and football gave way to the sunrise, I saw a bedraggled Indecisive Mike and wished him a great time in South Africa.   I plucked up the courage to ask him why he was known as Indecisive Mike.  He explained, “Because I’m indecisive”.   Quite.