Showing posts with label england. Show all posts
Showing posts with label england. Show all posts
Wenger As England Manager?
Perhaps because it is an international week. Perhaps it is because reporters are tired of writing about Arsenal's demise on the pitch. Perhaps they are tired of digging into the books and trying to figure out how many years it will be until the long-term, and now out-dated, deals made to pay for the new stadium will be keeping Arsenal's football revenues from growing at the same pace as their peers in the league. Perhaps it is because the England team are having a fairly easy run of qualification and with Capello already known to be on his way out there isn't much else to write about this week. Whatever the reason, there is a rumor making the rounds that Wenger might be the perfect blend of "foreigner, but not really" to lead the England team into Brazil 2014.
To which my reaction is "What?!?!?!??!?!?"
Wilshere Wants To Follow Fabregas' Lead
[EDITOR NOTE: Welcome new contributor Tyler Stellman to the blog family. He comes to us having written most recently for FourFourTwo.com. His first contribution is below and it was written before Arsenal's Champions League match with Barca today. That said, I think it becomes much more interesting in light of Wilshere's exceptional performance in that match. He looked a lot like Cesc the season before he added goal-scoring to his bag of tricks. Enjoy and thanks to Tyler for his contribution.]
Arsenal wonderkid Jack Wilshere has revealed he aims to follow Arsenal captain and teammate’s Cesc Fabregas lead in becoming a star midfielder for the Premier League side.
And Wilshere admits he has taken tips from Arsenal captain Fabregas, who won the World Cup with Spain in the summer and was controversially shown in a Barcelona kit soon after.
"Watching Cesc when he was younger and I was younger was the perfect opportunity to learn from him," said Wilshere according to The Guardian.
"Around the training ground he is helpful and when he is on the pitch he is telling me things to do. He tells me that I am not going to play every week, like he did, and that I have got to break through slowly and then get hopefully get in [to the team permanently]."
Wilshere was sent on a loan spell at Bolton last season, which proved to be helpful for the Hertfordshire born player. Bolton’s rough style of play did not necessarily suit Wilshere’s finesse style but the young midfielder left an impression on the team with fine performances against top opposition such as Chelsea.
“I think I had to go out on loan last year because there are world-class players at Arsenal and I had to get some games. I came back more experienced and stronger, and if you play regularly it makes it it easier for you," he explained.
“Playing for England was brilliant, a nice experience, and hopefully I can get some more games but at the moment I am just trying to concentrate on playing in the Arsenal first team.
“Sometimes I just had to pinch myself sitting in the changing room next to Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard. I was just happy to get on [as a second-half substitute].”
The young star went on to praise his club captain.
“For me, in the position he plays, Cesc is the best player in the world,” he added.
“That is shown with all the interest from the clubs who want him and people talking about him. That is what I want to be like – he is the perfect player to learn from.
“He is always talking to you – he is a good leader as well as a good player. Hopefully I can follow in his footsteps, to be as good as him would be nice.”
With Wilshere growing in both form and confidence and Fabregas rumored to be edging towards the exit door, Wilshere may have to take the lead off his mentor and captain sooner rather than later.
-Tyler Stellman
Arsenal wonderkid Jack Wilshere has revealed he aims to follow Arsenal captain and teammate’s Cesc Fabregas lead in becoming a star midfielder for the Premier League side.
And Wilshere admits he has taken tips from Arsenal captain Fabregas, who won the World Cup with Spain in the summer and was controversially shown in a Barcelona kit soon after.
"Watching Cesc when he was younger and I was younger was the perfect opportunity to learn from him," said Wilshere according to The Guardian.
"Around the training ground he is helpful and when he is on the pitch he is telling me things to do. He tells me that I am not going to play every week, like he did, and that I have got to break through slowly and then get hopefully get in [to the team permanently]."
Wilshere was sent on a loan spell at Bolton last season, which proved to be helpful for the Hertfordshire born player. Bolton’s rough style of play did not necessarily suit Wilshere’s finesse style but the young midfielder left an impression on the team with fine performances against top opposition such as Chelsea.
“I think I had to go out on loan last year because there are world-class players at Arsenal and I had to get some games. I came back more experienced and stronger, and if you play regularly it makes it it easier for you," he explained.
“Playing for England was brilliant, a nice experience, and hopefully I can get some more games but at the moment I am just trying to concentrate on playing in the Arsenal first team.
“Sometimes I just had to pinch myself sitting in the changing room next to Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard. I was just happy to get on [as a second-half substitute].”
The young star went on to praise his club captain.
“For me, in the position he plays, Cesc is the best player in the world,” he added.
“That is shown with all the interest from the clubs who want him and people talking about him. That is what I want to be like – he is the perfect player to learn from.
“He is always talking to you – he is a good leader as well as a good player. Hopefully I can follow in his footsteps, to be as good as him would be nice.”
With Wilshere growing in both form and confidence and Fabregas rumored to be edging towards the exit door, Wilshere may have to take the lead off his mentor and captain sooner rather than later.
-Tyler Stellman
Considering Group C
The only goal-mouth action we got from England/Algeria.
In which we consider the situation in Group C after yesterday's matches and somehow end up talking about Arsenal. But then again, don't we always?
Talking Tactics
Should the USA switch to a 4-3-3 for it's final Group C match against Algeria? Let's consider:
Robbie Findley's second yellow card in as many matches - this one for a hand ball offense when the ball clearly struck his face - rules him out of the Algeria match. If he weren't banned, it still might be worth considering dropping him as he's been unable to make anything of his chance. That leaves the USA with Jozy Altidore as their target man. Bob Bradley could introduce Herculez Gomez into the starting eleven, but his speed probably isn't what is going to unsettle a fleet-footed Algeria side.
In fact, our best goal-scoring options - and indeed our best players - are our wide midfielders, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey. Both players are as comfortable playing at striker as they are wide, so why not just bring them in from the flanks in support of Jozy? That immediately gives the USA a direct, and in Altidore and Dempsey a tall and physical, front line.
Going for a front-three wouldn't just be a physical advantage, however. It would also be a psychological advantage as it would signal the American's intent to win the match, which indeed they need to do if they want to ensure qualification into the next round. Algeria were too comfortable with England's front two and this shift could unsettle what really isn't a strong defense.
Switching to a 4-3-3 would also be beneficial in helping Bob Bradley select the right midfield mix. For my money that would be a central trio of Michael Bradley playing in front of both Maurice Edu and Ricardo Clarke. The Ranger's man did his reputation a world of good with his performance off the bench today, and in truth Clarke didn't have a terrible game against England. I'm not a huge fan of Clarke's but perhaps in tandem with Edu, sharing the responsibilities of holding the midfield together, he would do the job.
Those two holding midfielders would allow Bradley to roam forward more and support the front players with his range of passing. This would be Bradley's moment to step up and run the show, and I think he's capable of doing so.
Playing two holding midfielders should... should... also help the shore up the USA defense and hopefully keep their sheets clean through the first 15 minutes of the match. Algeria will likely try to exploit the USA's nerves in a must-win match when they've been unable to stop from going behind to early goals through qualification and into this tournament. They will also look to exploit the space in front of the USA's backline from which we've had all sorts of problems. I would expect Karim Ziani to live in that pocket between defense and midfield and if the USA doesn't pick him up he'll be able to put them under pressure from the off. Between them, Edu and Clarke would deny Algeria this space.
Of course this formation will put pressure on the USA's fullbacks to offer an attacking impetus and give the team a wide outlet. Before the tournament I would have been terrified of such a prospect, but after seeing this new and improved version of Steve Cherundulo play I think it could work. I would even think we could play an unbalanced formation, a la Argentina. Bocanegra would be the more "stay at home" defender on the left, and Donovan could play wider on that side to compensate for that. On the right, Dempsey would tuck in closer to Altidore allowing Cherundulo to get forward. Hopefully this overlapping would keep Nadir Belhadj from getting forward himself. Belhadj is a much better attacker than a defender so it will be important for the USA to pin him back - something England failed to do today.
So that's my take. What do you think? I look forward to hearing from you in the comments.
USA vs. England Running Diary
2:16 PM (Eastern Time) - I'm back from spending the morning watching the preliminary matches elsewhere - KOR/GRE at the gym and ARG/NGR outdoors with a surprisingly large crowd in Dupont Circle in downtown DC. Watching the studio show on ESPN and it isn't bad - Alexi Lalas is just a natural in front of the camera despite his shameless homer pick of the US. Ruud Gullit also apparently knows where his bread is buttered and picks a draw. Macca seems to know that he has to go home to England and predicts a 3-1 win for the Three Lions.
2:20 - Starting line-up analysis: About what we all expected for the US. Would have liked to see Torres over Clark but Bradley has been leaning this way throughout qualifying and the warm-up matches. The England line-up is very odd, especially in midfield with three players - Milner, Lampard, and Gerrard - who are at their best attacking through the middle and two - Milner and Lennon who do or have played on the right. They are the best 4 midfielders that England have but not sure they work well together. I guess we'll see.
2:25 - Based on club performance, I'm not sure why Capello wouldn't have gone with Hart over Green. Seems that national team managers get too risk-averse when it comes to playing younger players. An entire season playing against the likes of ManYoo, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea is enough seasoning to face off against the US.
2:29 - Captains shake hands
2:30 - And we're off...
2:20 - Starting line-up analysis: About what we all expected for the US. Would have liked to see Torres over Clark but Bradley has been leaning this way throughout qualifying and the warm-up matches. The England line-up is very odd, especially in midfield with three players - Milner, Lampard, and Gerrard - who are at their best attacking through the middle and two - Milner and Lennon who do or have played on the right. They are the best 4 midfielders that England have but not sure they work well together. I guess we'll see.
2:25 - Based on club performance, I'm not sure why Capello wouldn't have gone with Hart over Green. Seems that national team managers get too risk-averse when it comes to playing younger players. An entire season playing against the likes of ManYoo, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea is enough seasoning to face off against the US.
2:29 - Captains shake hands
2:30 - And we're off...
England vs. USA Part 4: This Time It's Personal...
The Spirit of '50
You may have read somewhere in your history books that the US has faced off against England a number of times throughout history. In most of those encounters, the Yanks have been prohibitive underdogs.
The Revolutionary War (1776) - granted we had home field advantage in this one but if there were bookmakers in international conflicts at this point in history we would have looked a lot like North Korea going up against Brazil in the opening round of this World Cup. No chance. As it turns out, we did slightly better than expected.
The War of 1812 (well, 1812) - Washington, DC was burned to the ground and my soon-to-be hometown of Leesburg, VA (a bucolic town about 30 miles up the Potomac River) was briefly the center of government for the United States. That said, home field advantage still held and we actually built a winning steak against the highly favored Brits. Let's just say that we became their "bogey team" well before they started losing grip of their empire.
1950 World Cup - Could the magic hold when we didn't hold a decided home field advantage? Well, in 1950 we produced an incredible upset that, until we hosted the Cup in 1994 and started what I like to think of as the modern era of US involvement in the world's game, was without question the high water mark for US Soccer. It may still be the single greatest accomplishment in the US game but since 1994, we've certainly had our share of moments that at least approach it (draw vs. Italy in 2006, beating Spain in Confederations Cup, etc.).
Since 1950, there have been friendlies between the two countries but there haven't been many moments that mattered. The friendly matches have, as you might expect, been dominated by the more talented English squads. So, where does all of this leave us? Well, I'm not a huge fan of sequels but let's see how this one is likely to play out...
England Lose on Penalties
Watch as the Rest of the World beats England on penalties at UNICEF UK. Soccer Aid 2010. Skip ahead to 7 minutes to see Woody Harrelson score the winner.
End of the World for Bent?
The closest he'll come to an England shirt this summer?
End of the World for Bent?
Darren Bent's World Cup dreams could be in tatters after a hamstring injury ruled him out of tonight's penultimate warm-up game against Mexico at Wembley.Shame. It would have been interesting to see if Bent could make "the leap" this summer.
The Sunderland striker has been unable to train fully with England in Austria and now faces a race against time to convince Fabio Capello he can be fit for the finals in South Africa.
Carlton Cole, a nation turns it's lonely eyes to you.
World Cup Squads In Full
No and nope. But why?
Those Other World Cup Squads In Full
A good wrap up of the 31 squads, aside from England which they cover extensively elsewhere, with a nice summary of the surprises in each one.
Right off the bat, it's Maradona who makes the news not including Cambiasso, Zanetti or Lisandro Lopez. Really? Going deep, or perhaps winning the Champions League doesn't speak well of these players ability? Yet Veron and Palermo are wheeled out yet again for the Blancoceleste? I don't get it.
As for England, here's their provisional squad:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green.
Defenders: Leighton Baines, Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock.
Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Forwards: Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney.
Pearce anger after Bentley withdrawal
Stuart Pearce feels he has been let down by David Bentley after his withdrawal from the England squad for the European U-21 Championships.The Blackburn starlet has left manager Pearce a man short for the tournament in Holland after pulling out due to "fatigue".
"I don't agree with it. I told him last night I don't agree with it in any way, shape or form," Pearce said on Sky Sports News.
"I feel as though I've been supportive to him. He wasn't in the under-21 side for whatever reason when I took over the job.
"I put him in, I thought he was arguably one of our best players in the two matches we had him.
"With that in mind, I rang Steve [McClaren] and said 'what I've got to report is I think this kid's doing quite well. Keep an eye on him'."
Players can only be replaced as a result of injury, so Pearce has been left with a squad of 22 for the finals, with England starting their campaign against Czech Republic on Monday.It's no secret that we're big fans of David Bentley around these parts. But this is a strange situation. Perhaps he's discouraged by a certain other player's successful return to England's right flank?
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