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No I think you'll find that they put 5 guys on him anytime he came near the ball and that freed up the other players! Jeez.

Is it me or is Gerrard rubbish for England? When was the last time he was the best player on the pitch when in an England shirt? The result flattered England last night, the midfield was way too deep and allowed the Mexicans too much room.
Ferdinand looks half the player he was, King was sloppy, Baines is too slow and lacks positional sense, Johnson is not a right back in any way and Crouch had a very quiet game :-(
England need push up 10 yards and to find a Xavi type player otherwise they are always going to struggle against the better teams. Good performances were few and far between, Green did very well, Hart looked OK, Milner worked hard in the 2nd half and thats about it. Johno looked bright but had 8 mins which is stupid if you want to look at a player. I hate to say it as I think he is over rated, but Lampard has to come in for Gerrard, with Lennon on the right and Huddlestone replacing Carrick and Johno on the left for this weekends match.
I may have support the Italians at the World Cup!

Was disappointed with the performance but somehow we dragged out a very good result. We were not at the races in midfield first half, totally dominated. Yet still take a lead into the break!

Walcott has superb talent but lacks the end product at many key moments. Milner £20 million, wouldn't give £20 for the guy I saw last night (Just an off night, I rate him really) although Carrick first half was just as bad. I Thought both Johnsons looked promising and Crouch the lanky bugger annoyingly looked like he would cause plenty of problems for any defence at the world cup.

And finally Leighton Baines, what is that clown doing in an England shirt? He provides nothing going forward and doesn't even have the redeeming factor of being a solid defender. He got roasted by the right winger constantly, Robben and Ladyboy would tear him to pieces at will. Let's just hope Cashley stays fit.

ever get the feeling you're going in circles?

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KYPU

Boo. Should've joined in... Could of got past lunch with that.

It seemed a bit pointless to have a practice match and not look at the fringe players for longer.

Carrick is a waste of skin.

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The Senior Member

We looked dire across the midfield four and this must be cause for concern...rooney grew forever frustrated and rightly so....that being said it improved slightly 2nd half....

Dare i say it, capello is missing his midfield general, Gareth Barry who normally manages things well for England

I think he will go for a diamond midfield formation at the WC...if Barry is fit...

Barry

Lennon Gerrard

Lampard

Im not sure if he's looking to take Adam Johnson or not...if he does he could be the one impact player for England that could change things....

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[SIZE="3"][color="Black"][font="Century Gothic"]مدينة [تيل] يموت أنا[/font][/color][/SIZE]

Here's my opinion...

GK - Both did f*ck all frankly. The goal wouldn't have been prevented by any defender so no concerns here really - I reckon James will probably get the nod.

LB - Baines played pretty badly, thankfully we have on of the world's best left-backs to come into the squad so no worries there really.

RB - He scored a beauty but his defending is a concern, Mexico's left-back had a lot of joy with attacking runs down that side and I think that we will see the right-hand side targeted quite a bit in the world cup.

CB - Whichever journos were trying to make out that Ledley King is better than Terry or Ferdinand was talking sh*t. He looked off the pace and was beaten by Vela a couple of times quite badly. Carragher was solid enough in the second half.

LW - First half, England didn't do much down the left and it was pretty much repeated in the second. Gerrard on the wing really ain't that great a strategy in my opinion. Johnno had a decent five/ten minutes.

RW - Walcott, all pace - no end product. Lennon, mostly pace, slightly more end product.

CM - Milner did fine, certainly when one compares his performance to that of Carrick. He's still a player I'd love to have at City. Huddlestone was better than Carrick also, though Mexico had slowed down considerably by the time he came on.

ST - Crouch might have been offside and it was definitely handball but he still provides a decent partner for Rooney and is an absolute bastard to mark. He is certainly a better option than Heskey in my view. Rooney was quiet but not bad by any stretch. Defoe isn't as good with Rooney as Crouch.

First half, England weren't as creative or aggressive but were more clinical than Mexico (in that they didn't just shoot straight at the keeper). Second half was a non-event after the early goal, I don't think either team wanted to push on any more really after it went 3-1.

I'd like to see...



I think we'll get...



In terms of the World Cup, England looked more than capable of getting through the first round and the round of 16, if they met Mexico in the quarter-finals (quite possible) then they'd have no worries getting into the semi-finals either. Can't see them beating Netherlands, Spain or Brazil though if and when they meet them.

will. never. happen.

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"It felt like a really pointless version of ketamine: no psychedelic effects, no pleasant slide into rubbery nonsense, just a sudden drop off the cliff of wrongness."
"i'm gonna wreck you so bad we're going to have to change church"