I'm rooting for Paraguay, purely because if they win I get to phone the missus and laugh down the phone.

At first I was like , but now I'm

After one match I barely noticed them, and now I'm getting constant amusement from all the news and other related items.

Hart is the best all round keeper on the england team, he's got better aerial ability than green. Better shot stoping and reflexes than david james and green. And has alot better kicking accuracy than green and DEFINATELY has better handling.
Green and James are both from relgation battling sides, now what was the difference between birmingham and portsmouth and it was definately the keeper and defence.
Fact that carragher is slower is irrelevent most cental defenders are slower than the vast majority of forwards the only english central defender with a forwards pace is nedum onouha (but he didn't get a look in)
Adam johnason and wright phillips on the wings; Gareth barry in holding mid; lampard in mid centre; gerrard attacking mid; rooney forward; richards right back ( I know he is a solid full back unlike Glen Johnson who is more suited to a defensive mid wing position); Terry and carragher centre back; A.Cole at left back. That would be a solid team. I think J.cole is a risk from injury, Glen johnson can't defend adequately, Lennon almost as good as SWP but seems to have more speed than ability, Hesky's job could be done by gerrard or lampard in AM position.

That's a big issue with de jong, as a city fan I see him live all the time in season and I see he has a lack of positioning so he uses anticipation. Due to his crap possitioning he has to fling himself into tackles, the majority of time with no malice.

He's and absolutely solid defensive midfeilder and is a star man if you want a crucial tackle, to gain or retain possesion.

What are you on? Have you not noticed he is sh*t?
You can't be serious suggesting that SWP should be played ahead of Millner and J. Cole!

Malice is kind of irrelevant when your tackle breaks someone's leg and basically wrecks their season. "I'm sorry mate, I didn't mean it" doesn't really count for anything at all under those circumstances. And in the end, if he keeps doing it it really doesn't matter what his intentions are, he should be made to stop doing it.If that means sending him off every fifth game, then at least it'll keep a few people out of hospital.


Presuming he's still on the pitch, that is. I honestly don't get why a lot of British football fans let this stuff go - Paul Scholes is the same. Can't tackle, doesn't really try, just throws himself in the vague direction of the player in possession hoping to get more of the ball than the man. Nobody picks him up on it, people just kind of shrug and say 'well, that's Scholesy, isn't it'. We don't laugh at players who can't pass, or shoot, or dribble or head. We just say they're crap. But not being able to time a tackle or stay on your feet, somehow they aren't seen as faults, even though they're just as core football skills as the rest of them.

Now, I have no wish for footy to end up like basketball. I love a good sliding challenge as much as the next bloke (oddly, Bolton's Kevin Davies is actually quite good at them and he's at least notionally a forward) but there's a difference between a good, well timed sliding tackle and just diving in knowing you'll get some of the ball so at least you'll be able to plead innocence. There are far too many players in the UK doing that and that's why we've ended up with player like Aaron Ramsey possibly having his career ended. It needs to stop and malice has absolutely nothing to do with it.

IMHO your talking bollocks again. James IMHO is still the best English goalkeeper but I do accept I might be biased
What was the difference between Birmingham and Pompey... well one side was being paid whilst one side wasnt. One side wasnt been sold off wholesale and one side wasnt butchered by a bunch of parasites.

anyway back to the world cup.

Sorry, have to agree with Eddie.

Hart is the man in form, that is the basis on which Capello said he would pick players.

2009/2010

Green 3402 Minutes played, 8 clean sheets, 66 goals conceded
James 2232 Minutes played, 3 clean sheets, 46 goals conceded
Hart 3240 Minutes played, 10 clean sheets, 42 goals conceded

James conceded more goals in roughly two thirds the appearances of Hart. Hart is also a goalkeeper to look to for the next world cup and should be getting experience now as he is the player in form. He also had more clean sheets than Green even though he played fewer games.

Yes, you can't always just go by clean sheets and goals conceded but Birmingham overperformed and don't have a spectacular defence on which you can explain away the good performance.

I think James should start in goal. I just think we need experienced (if a little clumsy) hands. I do agree though that Hart is one for the future and against the lesser teams (our next to group games) it wouldnt hurt to start with him either.

Reading Eddie's team though I cant help but feel it's slightly biased towards a certain Manchester team

So we're going to chuck out a keeper whose had one rick on England duty in favour of a keeper whose had about half a dozen?


Everyone's biased towards their team . Personally, I think we're valuing 'experience' too highly. Football is a fluid game in which new things are always happening. The ball is new, the pitches are new, the atmosphere is new. I'm not sure previous experience is all that useful, compared to talent and form.

I have no bias, I support Lincoln City how can I have bias?

Hart is the keeper in best form. Hart should be in goal, I've thought that from the start. It's also based on the rule that Capello said he was employing.

Seems I'm not the only one....Clicky

I really fancy listening to the alternative commentary for the nz game soon, but I am watching online.

Does anyone know if it's available anywhere? It doesn't seem to be available on tvcatchup.com

world cup is in 2011. Until then, there's nothing to watch

Since when has listening to anyone else that you're competing against been a good idea?

Basic psychology.